Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 523 Editor's Choice: 26
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I'm going to lob a bomb here...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...because King apparently has better things to do with his life/column (of which I whole-heartedly applaud)!
Fütbol sucks. It's boring, obtuse and mostly an excuse for the rest of world to drink too much and punch each other.
Yes, the U.S. does not care for soccer. We also don't kill the players from our teams if they fail to win (or do win!).
Stop talking about the World Series as if it wasn't named in the early 20th century or that the majority of players are no longer American born. Notice how most of the players (Cuba notwithstanding) in this last spring's baseball exhibition were already playing in our professional league. Notice how the soon-to-be best team in the NBA is headed by a German. Who, without the American sport of Basketball, would just be a really tall office worker.
And don't even get me started on the egos of the major fütbol stars. Barry Bonds ain't got nothin' on them... Only thing worse than a high-falutin' hockey fan is an uppity soccer fan!
And... discuss...
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90 minutes of foreplay?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's not that Americans need instant gratification. Most of us also appreciate a no-hitter or a 6-3 Football game. It's just so full of "almost".
If we're going to use sexual metaphors I would compare it to dating/wooing a really attractive woman/man for 6 months, only to find out that, when the time FINALLY comes for sex, that they just lay there/last for 2 minutes! Glad I wasted all this time for almost nothing. Weee!
But at least my friends are impressed by my ability to date attractive people/appreciate soccer!
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Told ya so...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Way back during the Conference finals I made the statement that, now that the Spurs were out of it, whoever came out of the East would be the favorite (see my previous letters) not because of offense, but the big "D." All recent teams who have won the NBA crown (Detroit, Spurs, and now, Miami) have been defensive juggernauts.
Offensive ability is all good and well, but the ability to play good defense is more key when the "real" season starts. All you heard about from the chattering classes and talking heads about the Mavs was their improved defense. I called "BS". Stopping a Stoudamire-less Pheonix does not require great defense. Beating the defending-Champ Spurs, while a great accomplishment, seemed like less great defense and more the Spurs settling for perimeter basketball and not knowing how to overcome Manu Ginobli's and Tony Parker's sudden ineffectiveness.
Then the time came when they would have to defend a great driving player (its official now, Wade is a "Great") and two dominant and hungry centers. Someone, probably a Mav fan, at the time of my prediction said something to the effect of "Who can guard Dirk?". We now know the answer: Dirk. Granted that this is the first time that he's ever gone this far in the playoffs and fatigue is obviously an issue when simply "moving your feet" is a problem.
So the question should have been: Who can guard Wade? I feel sorry for Coach Avery. When your 2 choices are double-team Shaq or double-team Wade, you're going to be wrong more than you are right. But c'mon, get up on the guy (Wade). Get in his face. Get a hand up! I think back to the Lakers/Sixers finals a few years ago when Phil Jackson just got a young, quick, cocky rookie (can't remember his name) to blanket himself on Iverson. No other purpose - the kid was obviously not there to score - but getting in A.I.'s grill and not neccesarily stopping him, but making him work for his shots. And this is where Avery was outcoached by Pat - the "pester" defense may not pay immeadiate dividends - but by the 3rd game of that series, Iverson was dog tired and ineffectual. Lakers in 5.
Sure, the Sixers didn't have a Shaq equivalent, but Phil isolated their greatest strength and made it their biggest liability. Detroit did the same thing to Kobe when they won in 2004. Pat Riley did the same thing to Dirk: in his face, contesting every possesion - betting that Dirk didn't have what it takes to play through it (as an aside to all the posters this week who decry American toughness in reference to Soccer - I gleefully point to Dirk and say "Whatever!") . Antionne Walker is not (as a Celtics fan) my favorite person in the world, but he did a great job of defending Dirk. And any coach that can convince Gary Payton (who's idiocy may have been the biggest contributing factor the the Lakers finals loss to Detroit) to take a charge(!!!) for the team is doing a good job. The Heat deserved this and as much as I hate to see assholes like Payton, Mourning, Walker, and Williams get rings on the backs of a 20-something phenom like Wade, they did have to swallow their pride to do it, and I can respect that.
And on that note: Can Shaq retire now? I'm looking forward to seeing how the NBA shakes out when its most dominant center (and I'm saying this as a person who LOATHES Shaq and everything he stands for) since Wilt, finally calls it quits.