Soccer has long been plagued by floppers, and I'm not talking about streakers. I'm talking about players who drop to the ground every time an opponent nudges, shoves or breathes on them.
It must be a European thing. Remember the original NBA flopper, Vlade Divac? Now Manu Ginobili is wearing that mantle, and that mantle is covered in floor burn. And tears. And Summer's Eve.
I'm the furthest thing from a Spurs fan, but I'm also no Jazz fan. As Michael Vick would say, I don't have a dog in the fight when it comes to the current NBA controversy. But in any series, any time, and talking about any player, I'm just sick of the whining, flopping, crying, acting and all the general nonsense going on in NBA games that is taking the focus away from the game and putting it on the referees.
2. Roger Clemens
The greatest pitcher of the generation has jumped the shark--or at least the media coverage of him has. When the top story on SportsCenter is a minor league game, and Izzy Alcantara is not in said minor league game, something is wrong. Watching Roger Clemens on the mound against 20 year-olds and hearing him bitch after the game in a press conference is not my idea of sports news.
Someone needs to tell the media that great pitchers like Jake Peavy, John Smoltz and Johan Santana are pitching against real batters and doing more against them--for better teams--than Clemens is doing against babyfaced twenty-somethings in a mediocre Yankees organization.
3. NFL Players' Legal Troubles and Accompanying Excuses
Alright, listen up Mr. Vick, Henry, Jones, etc. etc...and you too, Marvin Lewis. Here is a surprise: NFL players make a lot of money. Also, this just in: they don't have very long careers. Here is another one: breaking the law is a good way to get arrested. Put those three together and you get the common sense advice that a person in the NFL should stay on the straight and narrow for that short career, then take that money and run.
NFL players, if you want to smoke weed with five 16 year-old girls in a luxury SUV driving 120 miles per hour to take your dog to a fight, how about waiting until your NFL career is over instead of risking a season to unpaid suspension? That one season is 25-30% of a typical player's career, and about 100% of what a typical person makes in a lifetime. Wake up, boneheads.
On top of the idiocy of it all, I'm tired of hearing players (and Coach Lewis) make stupid excuses for stupid actions. Having a lot of players get arrested? Blame it on the cops! Blame it on racism! Blame it on global warming!
Here is an idea: blame it on the player who made the mistake that led to an arrest in the first place. Chris Henry, your legal troubles are not the fault of the policeman who was doing his job in finding and taking your marijuana, your legal trobles are your own fault for having it in your car. Is a little personal responsibility too much to ask for?
4. Players Suspended for Criminal Allegations
Going in a different direction now: While players who are convicted should own up to their mistakes and all of the criticism that comes along with those mistakes, players who are merely accused of crimes should not be treated as criminals by their teams in any official capacity, at least not until convicted of said crimes. What ever happened to individual liberties, innocent until proven guilty and all of that jazz? Sure, teams are individual companies who can make their own decisions outside of the burdens that we put on our government, but their right to do so does not justify their decision to do so.
If there is one thing that we should take from the Duke Lacrosse fiasco, it's that academics, feminists and hippies are really quick to lock the door and throw away the key when rape is alleged, even when the allegations are awfully shady. But if there is a second thing to take away, it is that teams should think twice about suspending players on mere allegations. We have a justice system for a reason; let it decide whether or not a person is guilty before you go about starting to ruin his life. The court of public opinion will judge players who have yet to be convicted or acquitted, but teams should be above that.
5. Teenaged Mets Fans
Yeah, the Mets are good. Now shut up. I remember seeing you wearing a Yankees cap two years ago. That middle-aged guy who was languishing at Shea back when nobody went to Shea, back when the Mets were always "rebuilding," that guy is a real fan. You're a snot-nosed bandwagon jumper who had to blackmail your mom with threats of telling daddy about how the gardener "mows her lawn" just to get an authentic David Wright jersey last month...the first piece of Mets gear you've ever owned.
2 comments:
Just found your blog. Interesting takes - I agree on most of your takes with a couple of twists.
Flopping isn't exclusive to Soccer/NBA. My favorite sport the NHL is also overrun with diving. The problem is usually two penalties are assessed, a two minute minor for diving, and a two minute minor for causing the guy to dive - usually hooking.
As far as Clemens is concerned, I love seeing Roger Clemens in minor league highlights as long as the highlight features some 20 year old kid taking him yard.
Thanks for the comment.
I agree on the Clemens highlights. :D
There is talk around the NBA of having some sort of penalty or punishment for excessive flopping. It'll be interesting to see how that goes.
Post a Comment