It should be a glorious day for fans of True Yankees™. Today is (supposedly) the day that Major League Baseball doles out suspensions for performance-enhancing drug use tied to the Biogenesis clinic. New York Yankees village idiot and third-baseman Alex Rodriguez should be getting more than the standard 50-game suspension. Estimates range from 150 games to a lifetime ban.
In addition to using PEDs supplied by Biogenesis, Rodriguez is (supposedly) getting extra punishment for interfering with MLB’s investigation and recruiting other players to the clinic.
One consistent rumor is that A-Fraud’s team is negotiating with MLB, but the two sides are far apart. Allegedly, commissioner Bud Selig wants A-Roid out of the game until the 2015 season, but the player’s camp believes that’s too harsh. Personally, I hope he gets banished to Neptune.
How long do you think Alex Rodriguez will be suspended for? What do you think is a fair punishment? Wouldn’t it be cool if the Yankees could trade Rodriguez to a Japanese team for several crates of ramen? Hopefully Selig’s ban-hammer is more powerful than Mjolnir!
Texas Rangers pitcher Matt Garza is known for his fiery competitiveness. Against the Oakland A’s last Saturday, he was…displeased when opposing pitcher Eric Sogard laid down a squeeze bunt on him in the 7th. It was Sogard’s second successful bunt of the game and one of several made by Oakland. Garza pretty much sucks at fielding bunts and was frustrated. After the game, he took to Twitter to lay into Sogard and his wife, Kaycee Sogard. Check out some of his rant in the image above.
Yesterday, he issued an apologetic statement that wasn’t much of an apology. Here’s a snippet via ESPN:
I let my competitive spirit cross outside the lines, and that shouldn’t happen. I let my passion, my fire carry over, and that’s not how this game should be played. And for that I apologize to the Sogards for anything that was said through my Twitter.
Misogynistic tweets aside, there are several things that are funny/sad about this. First, it’s amusing that Garza believes that competitive spirit, passion, and fire are reasons to act like an immature dick. Second, it’s hilarious that he feels so macho about blasting an opponent’s wife on social media. I’m sure all of you have encountered Internet tough guys over the years, but a professional athlete that’s an Internet tough guy picking on a woman?!? That’s just lame.
Do you smell that? It smells like something is burning…. It’s Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun’s pants! They’re on fire because he’s a big liar. (This joke works much better when you look at this story’s featured image.) After denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs and blaming a positive test on specimen collector Dino Laurenzi, Jr., Braun has proven to be a liar and a cheater. According to ESPN, Major League Baseball has suspended Braun for the rest of the year without pay for a violation of the sport’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
We’ve discussed PEDs in sports back in February and PED abuse in baseball last month. How do you feel about Ryan Braun’s suspension? Are you surprised? Is the punishment too harsh, too lenient, or just right? Most importantly, any chance that scumbag Alex Rodriguez gets suspended soon (like Braun, A-Rod was a Biogenesis client) or maybe deported to Uranus? Kindly share your performance-enhanced feelings in the comments section!
Remember WWE wrestler Gene Snitsky? His pro-wrestling achievements include punting a (fake) baby, harassing WWE Divas to satisfy his foot fetish, engaging in homoerotic promos with John Heidenreich, and having yellow teeth. He left all that behind to become one of the bodyguards for New York Yankees team idiot third-baseman Alex Rodriguez. According to The Star-Ledger, Snitsky is part of A-Roid’s five-man security detail.
This makes perfect sense to me. More than any other player in Major League Baseball, Alex Rodriguez has the most in common with a pro-wrestling heel. I’m not talking about a dastardly heel or a menacing heel either. A-Rod is 100-percent chickensh*t heel. Like most wrestling villains of this nature, he needs a monster for backup. Of course he’d employ a former WWE monster as his bodyguard. Of course.
Just for kicks, here are a pair of Snitsky’s greatest hits.
Despite its ridiculously long season, performance-enhancing drug scandals, and the general existence of Alex Rodriguez, Major League Baseball has moments that make you remember why it’s America’s pastime. Last night’s All-Star game had one of those moments. It was awesome that the AL and NL all-stars let Mariano Rivera take the field by himself. It was brilliant watching him soak up cheers from fans, players, and coaches alike. It was a truly great homage to a truly great baseball player Continue reading “Enter Sandman: Mariano Rivera’s Entrance to the 2013 MLB All-Star Game”
There are many things that I love about social media. It’s awesome how it connects people. It’s great that it gives fans a way to interact with celebrities. It’s also amusing to see it used when friendships go sour. In the San Francisco Bay Area tech community, it was common for squabbling people to unfollow each other on Twitter or defriend each other on Facebook. It’s brilliant that professional athletes are doing the same thing.
As many of you know, Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers for the Houston Rockets. Shortly after the news broke, Laker legend Kobe Bryant unfollowed Howard on Twitter. That’s frickin’ awesome! It’s such a nerdy way to make a statement. I love it!!! There are many ways to read into the situation. Some are dismissing it as pettiness on Bryant’s part. Others believe that it’s a way for one of the most insanely competitive players in the NBA to tell another player that he doesn’t matter anymore.
What’s your take on Kobe Bryant unfollowing Dwight Howard on Twitter?
Rappers insulting other rappers is a hip-hop staple. The “dis track” has been used to emasculate rivals, create controversy, and increase record sales. Normally, the insults are between rival hip-hop artists or crews. Jay-Z is the first artist that I know of that has used one of his tracks to insult a sports agent. As many of you know, Jay-Z recently created Roc Nation Sports and has started representing athletes. His clients include Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the song “Crown” from his upcoming album Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay-Z has a line for renowned super agent Scott Boras:
Scott Boras, you over baby.
Robinson Cano, you coming with me.
Yeah, it’s not the hardest hitting dis ever recorded, but it funny that Jay-Z went after Boras in a track…though I’m not sure it was necessary. Jay-Z already stole Cano from Boras as a client. Did he really need to rub it in or reinforce the point? Furthermore, Boras has a long list of clients and is responsible for some of the richest contracts in sports. I don’t think he’ll be hurting for business any time soon. All he has to do is point to the ridiculous contracts he’s gotten for Alex Rodriguez and new clients will sign.
Anyway, I hope this becomes a trend. Hip-hop artists dissing suits is funny. I heard the Nelly has beef with one of his accountants. Hopefully a dis track is in order.
Starting July 17, 2013, ESPN.com will switching all of its articles to Facebook’s commenting system. The site previously used Facebook comments for some of its stories and an in-house system for the majority of its articles. With the new system, readers will be required to have a Facebook account if they want to comment on a story. I know that most of you RPadholics are sports fans and that most of you are on Facebook, so I’m curious to hear what you think about the change. I also know that at least one dear RPadholic (*cough* 1ceman *cough*) is a sports fan that’s averse to social media services. I wonder if this will be a problem (for him).
As for me, I’m looking forward to the change. While there are some great conversations to be had on ESPN.com, there are also a ton of idiots posting hateful and racist comments. One of the reasons web sites like Facebook’s commenting system is that there’s less anonymity; most people use their “real” Facebook account to post comments on web sites that use Facebook comments. Of course there are some people that set up fake Facebook identities so that they can post stupid comments on web sites that use Facebook’s commenting system…but I suppose if it means that much to them then they should get something for their efforts. *shrug*
Anyway, how do you feel about ESPN.com’s full-on switch to the Facebook commenting system? Is it a good move or a bad move? Are you more or less likely to comment on an ESPN.com article now that it uses Facebook comments?
Last week in the RPad.TV Google Hangout, RPadholic bsukenyan shocked a bunch of us by saying that he doesn’t believe that the NBA is softer than it was in the ’80s and ’90s, and that aside from hand checking, the rules are basically the same. His comments stopped my brain activity for a millisecond. In my mind, his claim was a step removed from saying, “You know what? I don’t believe that the atomic weight of cobalt is 58.9.” Here’s some of what he had to say:
The current game is not soft compared to ’80s/’90s NBA.
They didn’t play as close in man-to-man defense, and as far as fouls are concerned they really weren’t that much different than they are now.
Man-to-man is much tighter now than I’ve seen in any older games…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, discovering the joys of Farrah Abraham, finally unpacking your games (though not organizing them), or Adrien Broner being an unsportsmanlike punk, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Last week in the RPad.TV Google Hangout, RPadholic bsukenyan shocked a bunch of us by saying that he doesn’t believe that the NBA is softer than it was in the ’80s and ’90s, and that aside from hand checking, the rules are basically the same. His comments stopped my brain activity for a millisecond. In my mind, his claim was a step removed from saying, “You know what? I don’t believe that the atomic weight of cobalt is 58.9.” Here’s some of what he had to say:
The current game is not soft compared to ’80s/’90s NBA.
They didn’t play as close in man-to-man defense, and as far as fouls are concerned they really weren’t that much different than they are now.
Man-to-man is much tighter now than I’ve seen in any older games. They played so far away from each other.
I have not seen a game that shows a more physical game than average ones I’ve seen during the regular season of today’s era.
I suggested that this would make a fun Coffee Talk debate and bsukenyan agreed. So let’s do it! If you disagree with him, please counter his thoughts in a respectful way.
As for my opinion on the issue, I couldn’t disagree with him more. To me, the game was absolutely rougher and tougher back then. Hand checking, zone defense being illegal, and being able to deck a guy in the back court that has a clear path to the basket — the game was much more physical in the ’80s and ’90s. Hell, you could frickin’ punch a guy and stay in the game during the ’80s.
As for saying the rules haven’t changed much, let’s take a look at NBA.com:
1990-1991
Penalties for flagrant fouls increased such that an infraction is penalized by two free throw attempts and possession of the ball out-of-bounds. The offender may also be ejected if there is no apparent effort to play the ball and/or, in the official’s judgment, the contact was of such an excessive nature that an injury could have occurred. Ejected players will be automatically fined $250.
1993 Playoffs
Any player who throws a punch now immediately ejected from the game, suspended for at least one game, and fined an appropriate dollar amount. Any player throwing a punch that connects with another player will be ejected from the game, suspended for a minimum of one to five games, and fined an appropriate dollar amount. Teams will also be fined an amount equal to the total sum of their players’ fines. Any player leaving the bench area during a fight will be fined $2,500, up from $500, and that player’s team will be fined $5,000 for each of its players who leave the bench area.
1993-1994
“Five-point” flagrant foul rule implemented whereby if a player’s season total exceeds five points, he receives an automatic suspension following the game in which his point total exceeds five and for each additional flagrant foul committed during the season.
1994-1995
Any player who leaves the bench during a fight automatically suspended for a minimum of one game and fined a maximum of $20,000; in addition to losing 1/82nd of his salary for each game, he is suspended.
Any player who commits two flagrant fouls in one game will be ejected.
Hand-checking eliminated from the end line in the backcourt to the opposite foul line.
“Clear path” rule changed to include contact in the backcourt. If a defender, grabs a player when the player has a clear path to the basket on a breakaway, two foul shots will be awarded.
1997-1998
A defender will not be permitted to use his forearm to impede the progress of an offensive player who is facing the basket in the frontcourt.
The “no-charge area,” formerly a two-by-six foot box where an offensive foul is not called if contact is made with a secondary defensive player who has established a defensive position, will be expanded to the area consisting of a half circle with a four-foot radius measured from the middle of the goal.
2000-2001
No contact with either hands or forearms by defenders except in the frontcourt below the free throw line extended in which case the defender may use his forearm only.
Neither the offensive player nor the defender will be allowed to dislodge or displace a player who has legally obtained a position.
Defender may not use his forearm, shoulder, hip or hand to reroute or hold-up an offensive player going from point A to Point B or one who is attempting to come around a legal screen set by another offensive player.
Slowing or impeding the progress of the screener by grabbing, clutching, holding “chucking” or “wrapping up” is prohibited.
2001-2002
Illegal defense guidelines will be eliminated in their entirety.
A new defensive three-second rule will prohibit a defensive player from remaining in the lane for more than three consecutive seconds without closely guarding an offensive player.
2004-2005
New rules were introduced to curtail hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls and call defensive three seconds to open up the game.
A lot of the ’90s rule changes were a result of the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. While they were multifaceted teams, a lot of people remember them for their punishing defense that bordered on assault. In my head, the 2004-2005 rule changes were basically David Stern’s way of saying, “Okay Detroit, your defense is too good and other teams are copying it. It makes for a slow and boring game, and I can’t have that!”
Objectively, I don’t see how anyone can say that the NBA hasn’t gotten softer. Look at the rules. Players used to be able to do a lot more, physically. I’m not saying that today’s defense is bad. On the contrary, there are some wonderful defensive teams that execute fantastic defense through brilliant athleticism and smartly coached zone schemes. In the ’80s and ’90s, players generally weren’t as athletic as today’s players (nutrition and sports medicine have advanced a ton) and coaches didn’t have the benefit of zone defense. The luxury those teams were afforded was the liberal stretching of liberal rules (i.e. muggings).
Subjectively, look at some of the players back then. Enforcers like Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason (who mugged me in high school…I think) were lauded for their tough play. If those guys played under today’s rules, they would be kicked out of the league. Even the top stars played rougher back then. In a game between the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz, Isiah Thomas humiliated John Stockton to the tune of 44 points. The next time those two teams met, Karl Malone greeted Thomas with a bionic elbow that resulted in a cut that required 40 stitches. You can still see the scar on Zeke’s head.
That elbow resulted in a $10,000 fine and one-game suspension — one frickin’ game! If a superstar like LeBron James or Kevin Durant delivered an elbow like that, the fine would be much heavier and the suspension would be much longer. With that in mind, Malone had a history of delivering flying elbows to several (mostly smaller) players. And why not? The penalties were a slap on the wrist back then.
Anyway, in what’s possibly the longest Coffee Talk ever, my conclusions is that basketball in the ’80s and ’90s was undeniably tougher and more physical than today’s game. I’m not saying that it was better or that the modern game is less entertaining. Today’s NBA is simply softer than it used to be because the rules have changed.
What say you? Do you believe that the “legend” of ’80s and ’90s basketball toughness has been exaggerated? Or do you believe that the modern NBA is soft? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section!
Congratulations to RPadholic and longtime Miami Heat season ticket holder 1ceman for his team’s 2012-2013 NBA Championship. While the level of play wasn’t as high as it was in game six, the drama and excitement were fantastic. There were many times when it looked like the Heat were going to run away with the game, but the Spurs kept fighting back and it was hotly contested up until the final minute. Here are some random thoughts on the final game of this NBA season, accompanied by some original photos from 1ceman.
It’s Good to Be King: LeBron James was fantastic last night. His jumper — particularly from three-point range — was deadly, he snagged some key rebounds, and he was the amazingly efficient player we marveled at for most of the season. While some will still question where he ranks among the all-time greats, few will question him being in the conversation. (This is the part where RPadholic bsukenyan writes a passionate argument about how the LeBron vs. Jordan argument is silly.)
Robin Returns: Dwyane Wade was surprisingly efficient and grabbed some monster rebounds too. Going into the game, people suggested that coach Spoelstra bench Wade so that James would have more space to work with and the Heat offense would flow better. Looking through the retroscope, that suggestion seems ridiculous.
Battier Killed It: To me, Battier was the difference maker. He saved his best game for last, going 6-for-8 from three-point range. After being mediocre or worse in the previous six games, Battier repeatedly stabbed daggers into the Spurs’ hearts. (I’m speaking metaphorically. Actual stabbings with actual daggers would have resulted in an arrest.)
Have You Seen These Boys?: For the second straight game, Danny Green and Gary Neal were awful. The pair shot a combined 3-for-19, going 2-for-9 on three-pointers. Given Tony Parker’s bad hamstring, the Spurs desperately needed a great performance from at least one of these players. Instead, they both delivered stinkers.
Scapegoats: The Twitterverse was all over Manu Ginobili in the fourth quarter, but the balding Argentinean had a very solid game until making some bad decisions at the very end. His final numbers were 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, five assists, and three boards. Parker wasn’t very good, shooting 3-for-12 and dishing out four assists — poor numbers for a player some consider the best point guard in the league. In his defense, he has a bad wheel. Still, I wonder why he often gets a pass from sports journalists. Perhaps it’s his adorably squeaky voice…but that shouldn’t cancel out the negatives of him being French and sleeping with people’s wives. Oui? Non?
Leonard Part 6: It was fun watching Kawhi Leonard become a star on national television. The 21-year old appears to have a bright future. His defense and rebounding were great throughout the series, and his offense became a bigger and bigger part of the Spurs’ attack. I liked how coach Popovich had him bring up the ball every now and again in the first half. Part of it was out of necessity due to Parker’s bad leg, but part of it was a clever way to mix up looks. Instead of Parker and Ginobili bringing up the ball, it was surprising to see Leonard occasionally lead the attack. The Spurs should have a future all-star in Leonard. To borrow a phrase from Ghostbusters, he’s got the tools and he’s got the tallent. (This is the part where you say, “It’s Miller time!”)
Happy Gregg Popovich: Pop is generally regarded as a curmudgeon (though I personally think he’s deceptively hilarious) and a fierce competitor, so it was strange seeing him flash a genuine smile after his team lost the game. He looked happy to be part of a great series and warmly congratulated the Heat. I almost spit out my Coke Zero when I saw him give Dwyane Wade a kiss on the cheek.
The Future: It’s going to be interesting to watch how both teams do next year. The Eastern Conference was pretty terrible this year, but the Indiana Pacers are getting scary and Derek Rose will be back with the Chicago Bulls. Both teams gave the Heat hell in the playoffs. The Pacers were without Hermione Danny Granger; he could return in a key role or be traded for a complementary player that fits better. It’s amazing that the Bulls were able to push the Heat, given Rose’s absence and other injuries. If the Bulls could challenge the Heat with effort, moxie, and great coaching, imagine what they’ll be able to do with Rose in the mix? While James will still be at the height of his powers, Wade’s banged up body will be another year older, Bosh’s RuPaul act is getting better (not a good thing), Battier should be done (dude tortured himself guarding power forwards most of the season), and Chalmers…will hopefully get hit by a car (in a non-lethal way).
The Spurs were old going into the playoffs. For most of the season, Ginobili looked like a player that should retire. The good news is that Leonard appears ready to take Manu’s place among the Spurs’ “big three” and Parker should be great once his leg heals up. Duncan has been written off before, but always seems to put together a season that makes his critics look silly. The bad news is that a healthy Oklahoma City Thunder team should beat them and there are a number of teams that should get better through free agency. Dwight Howard going to the Los Angeles Clippers or Houston Rockets would change the landscape of the Western Conference dramatically.
Your Take: Now it’s your turn! Kindly share your thoughts on game seven of the NBA Finals, as well as where the Heat and Spurs go from here.
