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If Napoleon Bonaparte were ever to be a football fan, I’d like to think he’d be a fan of the 2007 New England Patriots. No mercy, ruthless intense competition on the field, yet in a very efficient if flashy but methodical manner. He’d appreciate the balls-out-never-quit-screw-Waterloo-attitude adopted by the Patriots. Of course one has to remember, football as a sport comes no where close to war, but it is often fun and somewhat comical (a la Kellen Winslow Jr.), to think 11 players on muddy sod on any given Sunday are at “war” with the other 11 “soldiers”.

Because the undefeated Patriots fresh off a very good game vs. the Colts are on bye this week, it’d be a nice respite to look at some of the other “obscure” teams (yes there are teams other than the Cowboys, Patriots and Colts that play in the NFL) who are chugging along and could yet make a statement on the road to the Super Bowl.

We’ll start with the Pittsburgh Steelers who after blowing out the Ravens last Monday night, are poised for a deep playoff run. A nasty D, with a solid running game led by Willie Parker is always a recipe for winning as old school coaches will always preach run D and run O are the foundations for success. They have a pretty tough 2nd half with road games to New England and Baltimore (who will be looking to avenge bad blood between the two divisional rivals escalated by Ed Reed getting his clocked clean by Hines-my-ass-is-always-grinning-Ward). To be fair, Pittsburgh was winning by 2+TDs yet after every little tackle, Bart Scott and Ray Lewis were celebrating like it was the 2001 Super Bowl.

Next on deck, the Buffalo Bills, who despite many many many injuries are at .500 and have a good chance at a wild card playoff spot in my opinion. Led by rookie sensation (unfortunately the 2nd best rookie runner behind Adrian Peterson), Marshawn Lynch, and briefly by rookie QB Trent Edwards (who is out due to injury, could be back soon), the Bills have won 3 in a row even with J.P. Losman returning last week. In conjunction with a very solid D, the Bill’s 2nd half schedule is accommodating, and even a home game against New England is a game I would watch for, as I truly believe the Bills could possibly pull an upset here.

Quite honestly I am not sold on the AFC West nor the NFC North, so teams like San Diego, Kansas City, Green Bay and Detroit in my opinion are not teams that are worth noting for playoff contenders or deep playoff pursuers. Sure Green Bay is 7-1 and Detroit is 6-2, and Green Bay’s schedule is very soft with the exception of a date with the Cowboys, but without an honest running game, I do not think Favre can keep it up if teams can drop deep coverage and extra DBs to stop him. If they get a lead like they did against Chicago a month back, and cannot run the ball to run the clock out, a better team than Chicago can come back and win if they find themselves behind. However at the very least Green Bay’s defense is very good, something the Lions cannot say even though they held the anemic offenses of Denver and Chicago to only 7 apiece. Their schedule is actually a bit tougher in the 2nd half with Giants, Cowboys, two Green Bays, and games with the Chargers and Chiefs on deck. If they do make it into the playoffs, expect a 1st round bow out.

Finally this brings us to the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Dallas Cowboys. The Titans offer one of the best defenses in the league and are led by an opportunistic offense with Vince Young at the helm. They play everyone tough, and I look for them to be the 4th, possibly 3rd best team in the AFC behind the perennial favorites. The Giants have been a surprise this season after an 0-2 start. The best pass rushing team will have a hard time with the huge offensive lines of the Cowboys when they look to blitz or field 4 defensive ends on the line of scrimmage. It may have worked so far, but defensive linemen are athletic and quick by nature, and by putting them on the edge, they sometimes just use speed to get to the QB. However as mentioned before, the Cowboys boast one of the largest offensive lines in the league, and over the course of a long game with a running QB like Romo, it would be tough to keep up especially if they go with 4 defensive ends on the line against huge ogres like Andre Gurode or Leonard Davis.  Quite honestly in their 6 game winning streak, the Giants have not faced a good running game like the Cowboys, who can feed the rock to Barber (hopefully for my fantasy football purposes!) or Jones (boo give it to Barber!) to offset and counter the blitzing rushers coming up the field. The key for Dallas will be its defense, though solid, had trouble with the Giants on the season opener. They simply cannot give up big plays to Manning, Plaxico Burress, and Amani-its-not-a-Toomer. With Anthony Henry back but in limited snaps and Jacque Reeves getting more playing time, the 2ndary of the Boys will need to step up with their game in hopes of sweeping the season series with the blue-M&M-looking-ass-helmets-of-the-New-York-football-Giants.

NFL YTD: 64-58-8
Last week: 10-4

Minnesota +6 at Green Bay

Jacksonville at Tennessee -4

Denver at Kansas City -3

St. Louis +11.5 at New Orleans

Buffalo at Miami +3

Cleveland +9.5 at Pittsburgh

Philadelphia +3 at Washington

Atlanta +4 at Carolina

Chicago at Oakland +3.5

Detroit at Arizona -1.5

Cincinnati +4 at Baltimore

Dallas -1 at NY Giants

Indianapolis -3 at San Diego

San Francisco +10 at Seattle

“I’m a (bleeping) Soldier!”

Ever go out with a drama queen? Ever felt like the relationship had no spark unless your girlfriend threw beer on some steroid-induced-meat head-at-the-local-bar-and-almost-got-your-ass-beat-by-someone-named-Chuck? Ever perceive that unless the girl is loca, you aren’t the least attracted to her?

That in a sense is your 2007-2008 Los Angeles Lakers. Then again, ever since Kobe Bryant became a superstar coincided with the onset of the internet, satellite TV, and newspaper columnists yelling at each other on TV (there’s a reason people have “a face for radio”, and “a voice for newspaper columns”, in this case it would be both!), the Lakers have morphed into the drama queen of the NBA. From Bryant and O’Neal’s public spats, to Phil Jackson massaging egos, to Mitch Kupchak giving Isiah Thomas a run for his money as most incompetent GM, to everything else that has little to do with the actual game on the court. Now the league’s best shot at most interesting story to spew out in the middle of football season is the Kobe Bryant trade demands. Having kept his silence since the middle of summer, it was suddenly thrust into the public yet again with the admission by team owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, that he is open to trade talks. In other words, the drama queen just saw your ex from across the room, and proceeded to flip her off while readying her off hand for a flying backhanded slap.

Because beneath it all, the fact is that the Lakers are a pretty decent team. They were already essentially fielding the same team from last year that was top 5 in the L in scoring. Ultimately their team defense was what let them down. However so far in the young season, their D seems more aggressive, and scary enough, a half-assing-it-on-the-court Kobe Bryant is still averaging 30 per. An early signature win in the form of blowing out the Phoenix Suns on their home opener should serve as a reminder that as long as Bryant is with the team, the Lakers are a dangerous bunch. In a triangle offense, you do not need a true PG, as you can get away with passing swingmen or post players. With passing guru Luke Walton, 3 tool specialist Lamar Odom, and Kobe Bryant, the offense is fine as long as bigs Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum make sure to clean the glass and garner put-backs. The important thing to remember is Odom is still out with a shoulder injury, when he returns the team will be that more dynamic and prolific.

Herein lies the truth of the matter, as a drama queen, the attention must always be on them no matter the issue whether big or small. So while spats with management/coaching staff may seem trivial, all of that is shadowed by the constant threat of Kobe Bryant wanting to be traded. Any GM or warm-blooded fan with a pulse can see that trading Bryant is a worse idea than giving Kevin Garnett mood elevators. The man is the best player in the league, puts fans in the seats, and any trade offer for less than LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, or Dwayne Wade will only be for 75 cents on the dollar. At best. Even then you cannot compare him to any one player. While James possesses other worldly potential yet to be tapped, he is an inferior one-on-one defender compared to Bryant, and his range is lacking compared to Bryant. McGrady could be on par with Bryant purely on terms of offensive skills, if not for the fact that T-Mac is injury prone. Wade, another super scorer with an intense drive to win compares favorably to Bryant as well except for again the fact that he is not on the same plane as Bryant defensively. In short, the mamba is the most complete player in the league, from being able to create his own shots, range, inside/outside game, dribble penetration, and stone-cold assassin mentality, no one trade scenario could return equal value for one Kobe Bryant.

I personally think its all smoke screens in La-La-Land, and if they truly want to play the drama queen card, we will be hearing it all season all the while the Lakers possibly sneak into a 5th or 6th seed in a very tough Western Conference. This is shaping up to be an interesting conference race with Phoenix looking to be living on the edge of insanity with high expectations properly mixed with choking in important games, to Dallas in a season long hangover from last year’s debacle, to the Spurs looking to win 65+ games with a deep roster and saving the big guns until the playoffs. Instead look for the Hornets with a healthy Chris Paul and Houston with a healthy Tracy McGrady to surprise and rumble along as playoff contenders while last year’s darlings the Golden State Warriors will fall short of last year’s lofty expectations.

I won’t discuss the Eastern Conference very much as of yet because Miami is playing without Wade, Charlotte is starting off fast, while Chicago looks lost out of the gate, and Cleveland struggling through a tough first few games. Meanwhile the biggest story so far, the Boston Celtics (getting tired of hearing about Boston sports, how about you?) seem to be winning on fumes of the honeymoon phase of the season (everyone forgets who their coach is, but maybe he’s taking on that Barry Switzer mantle, and just leaves things alone and let the talent win). In other words, the way the East looks so far in the first week, look for it to change dramatically as we progress.

Ok so I really don’t hate this game. However I wanted to touch upon the touchy subject that is the recent uproar (but now a quiet meow) concerning the NBA referee betting scandal. Keep in mind that my opinions are unsubstantiated, my facts skewed, and my insight totally biased. Actually from what I have read, it boils down to a man who made $260,000 a year at a job that pays $80,000 entry-level, wanting a bit more money in terms of $5,000 per game from the mob. Assuming for a minute that he didn’t need the money (260k a year!??! just to make a few thousand dollars at the risk of his 6 figure salary), and assuming he was not bullied/threatened into assisting his cohorts, Donaghy probably likes the action. However if it were simple as that, he would just bet on the games himself through a close friend or family member and keep the risk of his job at a minimal, no need to go through so many middle-men and shady constituents.

Nevertheless, because we do not know how such a scheme started, it has ballooned into a very serious story with lasting repercussions. The integrity of the league is at stake. The legitimacy of outcomes of games will endlessly be questioned by gamblers all over, and ultimately, the image of the NBA is effectively tarnished. A league already facing image problems brought on by opponents of the me-first, hip-hop culture, and arrogant-above-the-law-outside-the-court drama is now reeling from its most compelling story yet.

Even with all of that in my personal opinion, though very serious and laced with controversy, this scandal should be and needs to be nothing more than the professional execution of a bad apple (as Stern so aptly referred when the story first broke out over the summer). My stance is this, through personal experience and a lot of viewing of NBA games, it is very possible but also pointless if a ref could alter the ending of a game. When you are dealing with spreads, and totals, only people with bets on the game would care about the conclusion of a game to the exact detail. For example, when the San Antonio Spurs played the Dallas Mavericks last year, the Mavericks were favored by 4. That means a line of -4 comes into play if Dallas wins by more than 4. If they win by 4 its a tie, if they lose the game, or win by less than 4, that bet loses. Now the opposite applies, if the Spurs win, or they lose by less than 4, the bet cashes. Now that sportsbetting 101 is over, the point is, the Mavericks in that game last year ended up winning by 5, covering the number. In spite of what the above link says, my personal opinion is that it would be very arrogant, and dangerous for a ref to purposely alter a game for a few thousand compared to the high-end salary they receive for a fairly enjoyable job even with all the pitfalls of pressure. And since that pressure is constant, why would they need to risk it more? The only answer can be action. In addition, investigations have uncovered the fact that Donaghy would receive payment IF he was right, and nothing IF he was wrong. That revelation does not bespeak or support the notion of a ref fixing a game especially IF there are a bunch of IFs involved as variables for him to even receive payment. Wouldn’t it stand to make sense that IF he could alter a game’s outcome outright so easily, there would not be any need for qualifiers for him to receive his reward? Instead through preliminary proceedings, Donaghy has only admitted to providing inside info and advice for which game to bet on. At face-value, he has yet admitted to actually fixing games (at presstime).

Playing devil’s advocate however, and assuming this one man was egotistic enough to try something funny intentionally, he would have to hide it well, and so he has so far until he was caught. Through this line of thought I would have to believe the extent of his tampering would only construe tampering with the total or the spread. Going back to my Spurs/Mavericks example, the Spurs lost to the Mavs late last year 86-91. To the public eye, on the surface it just means the Spurs lost in a very important game that would decide the division winner, and playoff seedings. However to Vegas (and her gambling citizens), it means the Mavericks covered that -4 spread. I think the extent of Donaghy’s power to screw with a game only deals with obscure numbers like this that remain in the shadows of sportsbooks and away from the public eye.

Another reason I do not think the legitimacy of the league was that tarnished lies with playoff games being played in series of 7 instead of single elimination. Imagine if the NBA playoffs were formatted in single elimination like the NFL or NCAA March Madness, the outcry over this scandal would be more substantial with proof of a ref needling around a single game for petty monetary gain. In a 7 game series, the best team will win, and in defining fashion. In the rarity of an even match-up that goes a full 7 games, the unpredictable drama only adds to the overall entertainment value. And in the case of a huge favorite choking in the 1st round (sorry Mavs fans), this only credits to the underdogs for being able to topple a top contender winning 4 games. No ref could have single handely alter a series in 4 games. Under such intense scrutiny right in the light of the national stage, it would be ridiculous to think anyone would risk their job, and possible jail time only to “fix” a game. I take that back. With addiction, anything is possible, but I stand by “only to fix a game”. The key here is one game, not a 6 game series like the one that took 4 wins for the Golden State Warriors to upend the tail-tucked Mavericks. There is always a human-element in all of sports-officiating, so this naturally lends to human error when referees will undoubtedly make mistakes in any given game. With enough on their plates to worry about from their own league office, and scrutinizing media outlets as well as degenerate gamblers everywhere, it would be folly to think this goes further than Tim Donaghy. Then again we all have been fooled this far.

To sum up, I believe referees can certainly influence the outcome of a game. However to influence the spread of one game is plausible, but to intentionally alter the winner is still something very doubtful in my opinion due to the backlash and the fact that all games are monitored by varying league officials. Maybe a few games here and there slip between the cracks (in terms of spread winner, not straight up winner), but the outright tampering of a single game (straight up winners) is at best an assumption. The outright tampering of a series would be blasphemy and certainly would cast a doubt on any sort of legitimacy the NBA has left before we start categorizing them with the WWE in terms of “sports”.

Well enough monkey business, on to the NBA Season Preview and my BOLD predictions: (summarized since I took up space for this scandal)

1) Boston’s teetering on the edge of a karma collapse, now that the Red Sox won the World Series again, the Patriots are 8-0, and the Celtics garnered a lot of attention for getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen alongside mainstay Paul Pierce. Just wait for it, what goes up must come down. For years we’ve heard the whining from Red Sox Nation, now we have to hear about the smug-ass Patriots, and the Celtics too? Will the universe collapse if all three major sports teams win their respective sports championships? It won’t happen because:

a) the Patriots will meet the Cowboys again in Super Bowl XLII, where the Cowboys will win because they will actually run the ball more, and their 2ndary won’t have that deer-in-headlights-let-Wes-Welker-roam-freely-in-the-2ndary-look in their eyes.

b) the Celtics don’t have a good PG unless Rajon Rondo all of a sudden develops a reliabe jumpshot, and does more than steal the ball. Allen will be hurt, Garnett will do all he can, and Pierce will be gassed by the time they lose to a deep and young Bulls team, who will make a deadline trade to acquire a post player with some semblance of an inside game.

c) The Red Sox in an effort to get younger will FINALLY trade Manny Ramirez to another team, and the curse of Manny will plague the Sox for the next millenia! Maybe my blog will still be around as a time capsule and proof of this when Red Sox Nation btches and moans about 1000 years of suffering to ESPN 2020 (I postulate they will have 3000 channels by then).

d) OK OK it’s just all wishful thinking, but its very annoying to listen to whiners become winners who whine about not winning enough anymore and winning so much spending so much money whining about winning when the very team they used to hate for winning so much spending so much money is now the team they have become, winning only with just as much whining.

2 ) an APB should be put out for the Mavericks’ fragile psyche. After their collapse in the finals to the Heat, and now to the Warriors in the 1st round, it will be left to wonder if they can recover and take that final step.

3) Kevin Durant will be exciting to watch as he auditions to be the star of the future Las Vegas Blackjacks (would be the perfect name for a team huh?)

4) the Spurs will win the championship this year again, making their first back-to-back title for three reasons:

a) their core and bench players essentially all return

b) Ime Udoka. this small forward traded to the Spurs from Portland will be the heir-apparent to Bruce Bowen. As a 3 point specialist and an unsung hero/hustle player on the Trailblazers, he will make a huge splash this year being seasoned in the Spurs system as a role player that will benefit much from playing behind one of the game’s best defenders. A friend of mine who follows the Trailblazers closely has already vouched endlessly for Udoka and also praised/cursed the savvy of the Spurs in picking up the right pieces to help out an already strong squad.

c) Trades-like-this-show-why-San-Antonio-remain-favorites-and-

Minnesota-is-stupid-for-trading-Kevin-Garnett-and-making-trades-like-this.

-notice what ultimately happened to the Timberwolves’ new acquisition.  a 2nd round pick is nothing to scoff at!  Gilbert Arenas, Luke Walton, and Carlos Boozer are some of the few gems unearthed in the 2nd round.  

Enjoy the season! and remember…Chicks dig cabbage!

Across the world, when one mentions “football (or futbol)”, there’s a 90% chance they mean soccer, goalies, hooligans, Arsenal, and David Beckham. The other 10% encompasses Americans who are thinking the sport that involves an oblong ball made from pigskin (well synthetic leather nowadays). That’s the reality, as Americans we are in the minority and sit on our own little island of touchdowns, and hail mary passes while the rest of the world are certifiably “nutters” about soccer. Other than an unfortunate incident back in 1994 when a couple of Dallas Cowboys fans shot a 49ers fan outside then Candlestick Park after the Niners beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, American football fans are kittens compared to the “hooligans” who roam the immense soccer stadiums in Europe, South America and everywhere else on Earth. They take their fandom serious, I’m not even close to kidding when I say their idea of hate crimes involves bloodying the other fans/players of their rival team. Of course my only reference is the movie “Eurotrip”, so I will just leave it at that. Just trust me when I say that the infamous Ron Artest vs. Detroit Pistons fans brawl in 2004 is nothing compared to European/South America nvenues where the police come in riot gear at every game. So while American football may be the tougher sport with the tackling and what not, soccer fans would certainly have bragging rights when it comes to hooliganism.

This is relevant to today’s article because I wanted to touch on the upcoming game this weekend in London. Being the first regular season game played outside the continental U.S. in England between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, there are already 90,000 fans ready to soak in some good ol’ American football. Because the game rules are more complicated than soccer, a U.S. based pizza chain even resorted to handing out pamphlets as a guide to newcomers to the sport. “For some fans, the highlight of a football game is the players’ celebratory dance done in the end zone following a touchdown,” the pamphlet states, encouraging fans to watch the pageantry as well as the game. Hate to tell ya England, but you’re gonna be sorely disappointed, the only “pageantry” you’re gonna see is someone spiking the ball, and maybe some high-fives, unless the league decides to slack on the touchdown celebratory rule that fines the player and penalizes the team 15 yards on kickoff. This is bar-none the stupidest and most ridiculous rule in the NFL. Though I am powerless to do anything about it, to no end will I stop criticizing the No-Fun-League’s effort to “clean” up the game yet stifle our most basic right, freedom of speech. There is no reason to go political in a sports blog, but I have always contended, if the league is worried about sportsmanship, and tension/fights between the players of opposing teams, the higher ups in the league office definitely are complete buggers in this situation. It is very simple, if you don’t want to be shown up, don’t let the other guy score! If Team A is down 42-7 with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and the player from Team A decides to perform an elaborate dance after finally putting his team on the board with its first touchdown, then there is no harm done because that in itself is silly and embarrassing. However the NFL does allow solo celebrations without props. So you can win as a team, but you can’t celebrate as a team in the ultimate team sport. Awesome. My heart goes out to thousands of European fans who will never know the intricacies of the “Dirty Bird” or the Ickey Shuffle.

Nevertheless it will be a unique experience watching the game take place in London, I personally think though it will take time, it is a good idea to try globalize a sport that is dominantly popular in the United States. However in a conservative sense, I think any expansion (while Los Angeles still doesn’t have a team) will only further dilute a talent pool that isn’t very deep in this league. The evidence is mirrored in the many mediocre teams most of which reside in the NFC. A comparison can be made to the NHL in general who after each passing year are getting less and less popular. Even America’s past time can attribute that expansion has led to a dilution of pitching and overall quality of play. However the key is always money, and the inexplicable desire for more parity and less dynasties.

On to this week’s picks, but first my weekly beer-goggled analysis of the Dallas Cowboys:

They’ve shown they can run the ball, which is the first step to winning games. They’ve shown they can pass the ball, which is a crucial step to achieve coming from behind in games. They’ve shown a propensity to make the right plays on special teams, which helps blow open a close game. They’ve shown they can stop the run, which is essential for a deep playoff contention. Now if they can solve their weak 2ndary issues, this will ultimately be the final piece of the puzzle for a possible Super Bowl appearance. Of course if it were this easy, everyone would be already crowning them. Oh wait, I’m thinking of New England :)

NFL YTD: 49-46-8
Last week: 7-7

Detroit +5 @ Chicago

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati +3.5

Indianapolis -6.5 @ Carolina

Oakland @ Tennessee -7

Cleveland @ St. Louis +3

New York Giants @ Miami (London! Bugger!) +9.5

Philadelphia -1 @ Minnesota

Buffalo +3 @ New York Jets

Houston (off) @ San Diego

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay -4

New Orleans @ San Francisco +3

Washington +16.5 @ New England

Green Bay @ Denver -3

The dawn of a new season precipitates as a dark cloud looms over the NBA. If not for the golden years of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry “The Hick From French Lick” Bird, and later Michael “Air” Jordan, the NBA would perpetually be stuck in TV ratings purgatory behind American football, and America’s past time but in the cellar with the NHL. Yet recent NBA Finals ratings would prove that this possibility is not as far from such low depths.

Football is king and though baseball’s influence is not as powerful as it once was, it still is regarded with honored reverence due to the memory of its rich history and sacred players. Where does this leave basketball? Aside from commercial airtime and TV power ratings; on a personal level, I thoroughly enjoy basketball purely for its intimacy and simplicity.

Though you could toss the ball around and play “catch” with one other person in regards to football and baseball, to take part in a full game would require anywhere from 10-22 people for football and at least 10 people for baseball. Of course you would also need a large open space, and various equipments. Whereas, in basketball, one only needs a goal, with a nylon net (I prefer nylon because of a cool swoosh sound it makes when you drain a three). Then again I’m not sure they make the net out of any other material, maybe polyester? Not requiring ample space (half-court or full-court) or a lot of people (you can get away with 2-10 people for a game), a variety of basketball games range from one-on-one, horse, knockout, 21, and the standard pick-up games.

At the collegiate amateur and professional level, basketball purists will attest that the combination of teamwork, crisp passing, vicious rebounding, aggressive defense, silky smooth shooting, ferocious blocks, and the ever popular spectacular dunks would leave hardcore fans and casual fans alike appreciating the subtle art of basketball, and ultimately yearning for more. Herein lies the problem. In the past 20 years, the advent of free agency, sports agents, and multi-million dollar shoe contracts have effectively strained the dynamic between team and individuality. The key thing to remember is that while NFL teams can cut a contract at any time, thereby precluding the assumption that most players will serve well to play hard to earn their money, NBA contracts are guaranteed; meaning someone like Grant Hill can sign 6 year 100 million dollar contracts, yet only play 200 games (not a lot considering there are 492 games in 6 full NBA seasons). I don’t know much about business, but a 6 year 100 million dollar investment that yields only 40% return of investment is not good. Now Grant Hill seems like a good person, he was a phenomenal player at Duke and with the Pistons early in his career. The key word is “was”. Nevertheless, the 2007 Suns seem to have picked up a vastly better bargain at the veteran mid-level exception of 1.8 million for one year compared to Orlando Magic’s unfortunate investment.

The common denominator to the decline in popularity of basketball is of course money. It stands to say that it also is a variable for football and baseball, but that is for another blog. It’s easy to sit outside and toss stones at the fishbowl, knowing that if I were in that position, I would assuredly take the money faster than you can say Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (his real name by the way). However for every Matt Geiger (signed a 52 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and proceeded to retire in 2002 from knee injuries in which the validity has been questioned by doctors and team officials alike, remember… guaranteed contracts in the NBA!), there are also Kobe Bryants and Tim Duncans. Blue chip team foundations that produce an ROI (return of investment) of 100% and much much more.

In truth, I just wanted to gripe about Matt Geiger, because I am extremely jealous! I hear he is a real-estate investor now. Nevertheless, though money is a reason why the team concept in basketball made famous by the Showtime Lakers, the blue-collared Celtics, or even the Bad Boys Pistons, seems to have faded with time, it would be naive to think that such exhibitions of exciting basketball cannot be seen today. One just needs to watch the Phoenix Suns for a break-neck speed uptempo game, the San Antonio Spurs for a balanced game with emphasis on pick and roll, and teamwork/help defense or even the Golden State Warriors for streetball-jack-up-as-many-threes-playing-small-ball-style. The variety is there, you just need to know where to look for it.

As much as critics are quick to point to the “boring” low scoring style of game that the defending champion Spurs play, much of the blame must be attributed to their small market, and uncharismatic “superstar” Tim Duncan. It is ignorant to say their brand of basketball is “boring” when any basketball purist would argue that the Spurs can play a fast break type of game or a plodding half-court just as well, depending on their match-ups or even their mood on some nights. The rightfully popular era of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls in their last two NBA finals did not even average above 90 points per game. So to say the last NBA finals were too low-scoring for their tastes, antagonists are better served to say, it just plainly lacked the panache of an other-worldly superstar. We all hoped Lebron James would deliver after his sensational 48 points in the Eastern Conference finals, but after all he is still only 23. It is scary to think of what he is capable of next.

The thing to remember here is you will always have your hardcore fans who will stick by their favorite team no matter what (unless you’re Snoop Dogg, a lifelong L.A. Lakers fan caught wearing a bandwagon Golden State Warriors’ jersey in last year’s playoff), but because those numbers are the minority, the obvious aim for the NBA are the casual fans. If you’re looking for a superstar to latch onto, you cannot go wrong with the young crop of ballers such as: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and even some new rookies such as Kevin Durant and Greg Oden (wait a year on him). As I always preach, when you leave the personal lives out of the picture and ignore whatever drama-filled Kool-Aid the national media wants to feed you, you are left with just the player (not the human) laced with God-inspired athletic talent that will mesmerize you in the manner of crossovers, cross-court passes, around the back dishes, long range bombers, and slamming dunks.