Basketball Screamers

I remember watching UNLV beat Duke for the 1990 NCAA championship. At one point during the game, Moses Scurry got a rebound and screamed like he had just been disemboweled.

What was funny about this was the fact that there was no one near him and he didn't even have to fight for the rebound, yet he gave out this intense yell like he had just killed his enemy in battle. That was the moment I started noticing screamers.

I enjoy seeing players who are passionate and intense, but sometimes they can go overboard. If you dunk over a defender during a last second play to win the game, then I think an emotional scream is expected, but the situation should warrant such a display of emotion. I don't want to hear any screams after a player makes both of his foul shots in the first quarter.

I've noticed that the Celtics are the worst offenders when it comes to this. I hate seeing Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnet beat their chest, scream, and scowl every time they make a good play or get an and one call. There are many other emotional players in the NBA who are known for this including Carlos Boozer, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Joakim Noah.

When I see an amazing play, I have no problem with a player going primal and celebrating, but just make sure the play is worthy of the celebration.

To All The Haters

With the Maverik's recent sweep of the Lakers, I am reminded of how emotional fans can get towards certain teams and players. I never realized there were so many Laker haters out there.

When the Internet was new (right after Al Gore invented it), I remember checking out some sports chat rooms to see what they were all about. The conversations usually went like this:

Shaq is the best!
Whatever- David Robinson is better.
What? He's too soft. You are crazy to like the Spurs.
You're an idiot.
No, you are you stupid *%!#!
.....repeated 100 times back and forth and laced with profanity and misspelled words.

I guess message boards haven't changed much over time. I can't stand reading comments on YouTube highlights. Regardless of what the video shows, there are always stupid comments from critics who hate the player and have to vent their hatred. I've noticed this is very common for Lebron and Kobe fans going back and forth saying how bad the other player is.

I have some news for these brilliant commenters. The most pathetic player who rides the bench in the NBA is still better than 99% of the population when it comes to basketball skills. So when you comment and say that Kobe sucks, don't be ridiculous. You can say you don't like him, but how can anyone say that the 6th leading all time scorer in the NBA history sucks?

You are welcome to your opinions, but please use the proper descriptions to describe a player you are trying to bash. You can rip them for their looks, a poor game they had, because of the team they are on, or because you lost money betting on them, but please don't be so lazy and just say "they suck" just because you don't like them.

Unfair Ejection?

I'm not a Paul Pierce fan and I'd love to see Miami beat Boston, but I have to admit Pierce got a raw deal when he was thrown out of Sunday's game. His first technical foul came after he was hammered while trying to get a jump shot off after faking his defender into the air. He approached James Jones after the hard foul and got in his face. The contact he initiated could not be considered a head butt unless you are using soccer standards.

Later Pierce set a pick on Dwayne Wade and was given a technical for "verbal taunting" after the collision. I have never seen a player tossed quicker for doing less in my life (unless you count Tim Duncan being ejected by Joey Crawford for laughing while sitting on the bench.)

Watching the replay and seeing the ref's quick and exaggerated body language reminded me of an umpire throwing out an angry manager after he's been arguing and carrying on in front of the fans. I had a feeling he was just itching to toss someone.

As unfair as some think this may have been, it is still a good thing since it will make the playoffs more exciting and has primed the pump for all the conspiracy theorists to come out of the woodwork.

NBA Player Look A Likes

I've noticed that some NBA players have uncanny resemblances to certain celebrities.  I really think the guys below are dead ringers for their evil twins. If you were going to make a movie about the NBA, these are the guys I'd cast for the part since they seem to have been separated at birth.

Aaron Brookes and Chris Rock

Kyle Korver and Ashton Kutcher

Robert Horry and Will Smith

Andrei Kirelinko and Dolph Lundgren

Manu Ginobli and Bronson Pinchot

NBA Playoff Intensity

The NBA playoffs are finally upon us. It's nice to see teams buckle up and get down to business. I can't blame NBA players for sometimes playing at half speed since the season is so long, but it's always nice to see the intensity pickup again during the playoffs.

Some signs of playoff intensity include diving for balls, ending up on the floor more often, hard fouls, fights, and players actually playing defense!

Having so many talented and competitive players all competing for one championship can make the sport more exciting to watch. I wonder how fun the games would be if they didn't keep score and they gave all the players a championship trophy at the end of the year.

The Problem I have with Jimmer...

It has been fun to see Jimmer have a great year and collect a ton of awards. As much as I've enjoy watching him play, I recently realized there is something about him I don't appreciate. Because of his ridiculous shooting range, there are now countless young men trying to copy him and shoot three pointers a good 3-10 feet behind the three point line. Why is this a problem? Because they always seem to be guys that I'm stuck with on my team when I play pickup games!

Just today I had a kid on my team who was literally shooting 40 foot shots during our game. Seriously? They were more like Hail Mary passes than basketball shots. It's starting to rub off on everyone and it only gets reinforced when they occasionally make one.

Not many people can even attempt to dunk the ball from the free throw line, but any deluded soul can take 3 point shots that are well beyond their range. I've got a bad feeling that this is only going to get worse. Why do all the Jimmer wanna-be players always have to be on my team?

Basketball + Wrestling = Entertainment

I think it is time that we combine two of the most entertaining sports into the perfect hybrid. I'm talking about  the NBA and the WWE. Can you imagine mixing the athletic plays of the NBA with the theatrics of professional wrestling?

If we could replace David Stern with Vince McMahon just imagine how much more exciting things would be. I know he already attempted this with the XFL, but he was looking at the wrong sport. Here are ten reasons why this merger would make the NBA more exciting.

1. The pyrotechnic introductions and theme music for each team would be improved. They'd swagger in from the portal instead of the customary introduction from the bench.

2. We'd see much more passionate interviews. Instead of the standard generic catch phrases and boring interviews, we'd hear inflammatory rhetoric and passionate speeches.

3. There would be improved behind the scenes locker room footage as we got a sneak peak of how players were planning to conspire against their rivals.

4. If you thought Joey Crawford missed some calls in the past, just wait until he is being distracted by Paul Pierce while Kevin Garnett has Chris Bosh in a choke hold.

5. The teams would get new exciting names. Boring names like Pacers, Knicks, Cavs would be replaced with Team Fury, The Punishers, and Shock and Awe. They'd also get new and improved costumes uniforms.

6. Each player would have a signature move or shot they would finish their opponent off with.

7. Folding chairs, tables, and ladders might occasionally make their way onto the court which would make things more dangerous and exciting.

8. Players might suddenly turn against their teammates and switch alliances to the opposing team in the middle of a game.

9. No more wimpy stuff like 3 seconds in the key, hanging on the rim, or technical fouls!

10. This sport would be a perfect place for many of the already expert floppers of the NBA to further showcase their acting skills.

Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman didn't even scratch the surface of this opportunity back when they gave it a shot.