NBA Markets

I didn't know how to phrase the topic the right way.

There's been a lot of discussion amongst the talking heads of the NBA world about how players are ditching the small market teams to running to the big markets. Some small-market owners are complaining, saying that there's a competitive disadvantage if they can't keep their star/franchise player because the larger market is more appealing to the player.

I think that's bogus. Absolutely bogus. The reason players leave teams (which, conveniently happens to be the small market teams) is because they're poorly run. It doesn't get much more simple than that. If you run your team smart, the players will stick around and reward you for rewarding them with the right pieces. Look at San Antonio, Tim Duncan has played their his entire career. Although Timmy doesn't seem like the guy who goes after the glitz and the glamour.

Or you can say the same with Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the planet, and just this past summer signed an extension because he was going to be playing with great players like Westbrook and Ibaka.

LeBron left because Cleveland wasn't putting the best players around him in an opportunity to win. It's that simple. He had stuck it out for 7 years. It's fair to say he gave them a fair shot. Now, going to Miami, to Dwayne Wade's team, is a totally different animal. But as far as "jumping ship" to a big market? If he wanted the biggest market he could of gone to the Knicks. He didn't. And just a year ago nobody would of wanted to go to the Knicks because they were in turmoil, with no direction and just seemed to be a mess. They freed up space to get Amare and now Carmelo, but so what? They're still a 6 seed, and might fall to 7 if they don't check their rearview mirror. They beat the Heat, but they lost to the Cavs. Riddle me that.

Remember, the NBA is different than the other sports because there is a max contract. There is no A-Rod deal. Kobe makes the same as Joe Johnson, who makes the same as Chris Bosh. That's as simple as it gets. So while money is nice, it's clearly the option of the players to determine where they want to get their money from. Although, that doesn't mean the NBA is free from it's boneheaded, scratch your head type contracts and just say "he makes HOW much to ride the bench and play 15 minutes a night?"

The league honestly is at an all-time high as far as popularity. I don't know if it's necessarily LeBron's doing, but for me it started right around then. There are so many subplots and story lines it's like a rich man's WWE. The Celtics Big 3 trying to show the young 3s teawmrok. Miami's Big 3. Orlando trying to prove they're the best team in Florida New York trying to make 3. Kobe still proving who is top dog. Blake Griffin trying to break the backboard. Kevin Love turning into the white Shaq. Durantula's continued evolution. And I haven't even talked about the Bulls, Spurs, or Mavericks.

Sure, nobody cares about the chaos in Detroit, or the Bucks, or the Pacers, or even the Sixers. I'm not sure I could tell you one player on the Memphis Grizzlies. Or the Rockets. But there are 8-10 teams that I would watch any time they're on television. That's about 8-10 more than I would have watched this time last year. I think that in itself is the accomplishment. The NBA is bringing the casual fan and getting them invested again, because there's fun to the league. Not everyone's having fun, but more people are than before.

So small market teams, shut up and run your team better. Your players will reward you for your efforts, if you play to win, and not play to make a profit.

Award Season

Aren't award shows really dumb? We've over-hyped them to make them not about the awards at all. Instead, it's about who was wearing what and how one looked vs the other. The awards really aren't the focus at all anymore. I don't know which channel, because I don't watch, but I'm sure E! or maybe ABC run some drawn out "Red Carpet" ceremony where they try to ask every celebrity what they're wearing, who it's from, and who they want to see win tonight (usually themselves cause they're egomaniacs.)

Or the other thing we worry about is the host. People are so excited that so and so is the host. Again, does that ever really make a difference? It's like we need some actor who can sing/dance/crack jokes because that's going to change the show. Do you remember any of the jokes from any of the shows? I only remember Russell Brand sucking in VMAs. The first time. Who even hosted last year? Which all circles back to who cares, why does this matter?

For instance, tonight is the Academy Awards. What do you think people are going to be talking about more; Natalie Portman's dress or her winning an award? I'd bet on the first. Or "I can't believe how terrible X looked." It's not going to be "I can't believe King's Speech beat Social Network."

The award show is supposed to be a celebrating of the past year in whatever form of entertainment. All of the nominees (usually) are great. True, only one can be voted "the best." but they're all worth recognition (duh, that's why they were nominated).

There's not much more to say. There's no way to fix this, like most things, unless we did away with the show altogether and they just announce everything without the glitz and the glamour. But why would they? They've got the market locked in for those 3 hours every year and make get paid extremely well for it.

That said, of course I'll watch. Although I'll definitely be flipping between the Knicks and the Heat. Funny that ESPN would try to steal ratings from it's own company (ABC/Disney). Great business strategy.

Sore Sports

Before you continue reading, you need to watch this video.

Since I know my readers are lazy, allow me to write the gist of it: A kid at Holy Family University (a small school in Philly) on the men's basketball team was knocked over by a coach during a rebound drill. This is where you really need to watch the video to see it demonstrated. Anyways, so he gets hit and falls over. His wrist is broken. He demands action from the university, they don't do "enough" in his mind. He goes to the police. They don't go into what happens next, I assume lawsuit, because America is a beautiful country.

So he contacts the authorities and the coach is being reviewed. There's footage of the coach crying. Then the video segment interviews both the coach and the player, who are with some kind of (I assume) legal representatives.

Is this really the what goes on in America? The problem with this story is that both the coach and the player are wrong. To push this kid over was more than just "tough love." But basketball is physical, so I'll let it slide. Then he kicks him. Not hard, but it's like a kick shove. That was uncalled for, but this can't be the first time that a coach did something physical to a player. Or the first time a player was verbally abused.

And the player? What a wuss. Calling the authorities? Really dude? The coach knocked you over, so what. Learn from it. That's why he is the coach and you are the player. And if you really "don't respect" the coach after this, then just quit. When someone does something you don't respect, you don't continue to associate with that person. It's that simple. When he said "I really want to play basketball at Holy Family" that's pathetic. He really needs to aim higher. The school owes him nothing. He wasn't maliciously hit with intention to harm. He was knocked down. Playing a sport. Tough nuts dude.

There's not much more to be said. Society sickens me.

Apple Rumors

I'm not obsessed with Apple. I think Apple puts out a superior product than competitors. What I mean by that is they make everything themselves, making the product run more efficiently. They make their own machine with their own parts that is powered by it's own operating system. Any computer/smartphone/tablet you see running on Windows or Droid is made by another company. Dell makes their computers to run on an operating system not made by them. The DROIDS are being made by Motorola, but run Google's system. Because they aren't created by the same company they can't run at it's optimized power. And that's why Apple's products, to me, are better. They're also typically more money, so you get what you pay for.

The tech culture (and most of the general population) seems obsessed with Apple. For the past four years that iPhone was on AT&T, we'd hear a new "iPhone to Verizon" story every three months until it finally came true last month.

I've been looking forward to getting an iPad for myself, but since I've been assuming iPad 2 would be coming out soon, I've been waiting. It's hard to avoid all the rumors for it. Let me go through some of what I've heard:

Apple will release the iPad on Steve Jobs birthday.

Apple is waiting until after the Chinese New Year is over to announce the iPad.

Apple is planning for iPad 2 in the spring, then iPad 3 will be released in the fall.

iPad 2 will be installed into your brain.

Okay, I made the last one up. That rumor is for iPad 75. But the other 3 are real. Think about them for a second, what would ever make anyone think that those three make sense? It doesn't. Apple doesn't care about Steve Jobs birthday or the Chinese New Year. People are just trying to connect the dots on their own. And with the Internet, these things can spread like wildfire.

The iPad 3 rumor is the best one. Why would they Apple ever release an iPad 2 now and 6 months later upgrade? They've already got the hottest tablet on the market, and it's going to sell more with the second iteration. They really don't need to upgrade it. The original could probably last another year. But Apple tries to stay ahead of the curve to keep itself on top.

Apple is honestly the only company I know that has such a crazy following. They don't have to say anything - everyone says it for them. They get in the news by not doing anything at all - it's all created by the media on their own. It's great PR. I'm sure Apple has it's own internal PR team, but they don't need to do much unless they have another Antennagate or iPhone 4 left at a bar.

It will be hard to see the future of Apple, especially since it feels like so much rides on Steve Jobs. Obviously he can't live forever with the company, but I'm sure the creative genius is more than just him behind the scenes. He's just the one everyone sees. I think anyway, I don't really know. I've never been out to One Infinite Loop, so who knows. Either way, it seems like there is no stopping Apple, unless Google starts to try to compete more with them, which has never been their modus opperendi.

In other news, I really can't wait for the iPad.

Update 2.24 - Okay, so they announced the new MacBook Pros today. I'd really like to believe this has zero correlation to Steve Jobs' Birthday. The world may never know.

The Melo-Drama

I don't claim to be an expert, but the Knicks are idiots. This trade to get Carmelo screams desperate. Melo told everyone before the season he wanted to be a Knick. He was going to be a free agent, so he was basically wrapped up. The Knicks could of kept their players and draft picks then still sign Carmelo to essentially the same deal.

The Knicks made this deal so they could get Carmelo now instead of in 4 months. And they gave up a boatload to make it possible. Let's be honest, Carmelo is overrated. At 26, is it too much to say he's already peaked? Or at the very least plateaued? He may get better, but the talent younger than him is making much bigger strides.

Honestly though, great move for the Nuggets. They got something for nothing. It was a given Carmelo was leaving. So why not trade for him now and get a little something. Ask Cleveland how they're feeling, think they wish they could of done something? Comparing LeBron to Carmelo isn't exactly fair (although they are tied to that same draft class) but it's a similar situation that teams face every year. The Brewers face it later on this year with Prince Fielder.

Knicks are hoping the big name of Carmelo and Amare can make the Knicks relevant, but they traded away the other pieces to see success. Any hope of getting Chris Paul or Dwight Howard after 2012 seems foolish. No way they don't take the max deal from somewhere else. Unless the Heat win the next two, which as of now doesn't seem likely. Spurs, Celts, Mavs, and Bulls still stand in their way.

So, end of the day? Knicks are chasing fools gold. Looks good now, but doesn't make sense long term. It's a great thing Isiah Thomas left that organization......

I'm just pissed: I'm moving to New York in a week and there's no way I'll ever afford a Knick ticket for my time there. Until I win the lottery...