One of the best scenes in a sports movie is Kevin Costner’s rant in “Bull Durham” talking about what he believes in. Watching the NBA All-Star weekend got me thinking that I could go on a similar rant, particularly on the NBA, but also some other stuff as well.
I believe:
· That if NBA Commissioner David Stern thinks Joey Crawford’s foul call against LeBron James last week was a good call, then he doesn’t know anything about basketball. The call against the Pacers’ Danny Granger wasn’t a good one either, but Crawford’s whistle was terrible and it makes Stern look foolish to say it was a legitimate call.
· NBA Slam Dunk Contest should be abolished. It was clearly set up to have Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard in the final twosome. I don’t say stuff like this often, but when I was younger, I could have done Robinson’s dunk off of teammate Wilson Chandler’s back. And if I could do it, how good could it have been?
· That TNT needs Charles Barkley back. Am I the only one who was getting annoyed with Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller telling us how great they were? At least, Miller was a legitimate all-star player. Smith’s career scoring average is less than 13 points per night (12.8), and while it is true he played on the Rockets’ two championship teams, he was not a star on those teams.
· The Cavs will ruin ESPN’s hopes for another Celtics-Lakers championship series by defeating Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. Cleveland is improved from last year’s team and the Celts will start getting some nagging injuries to their older “Big Three”.
· That WKNR’s move to put Michael Reghi on the afternoon drive shift is a big winner. Reghi’s insights, particularly on the NBA, are right on the mark, and he is more analytical than the people he replaced in that time slot. Those others thought more like fans.
· If the Browns use the fifth pick in the upcoming NFL draft on an offensive player, I will scream at the top of my lungs. I think GM George Kokinis and Coach Eric Mangini realize you can’t be a consistent winner in pro football without building a strong defense.
· The Cleveland Indians will win less than 90 games this season, but that will be enough to win the Central Division championship.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 