Letters to the Editor
Eric Samuelsen
Published Letters: 32 Editor's Choice: 6
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Amaechi did come out
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I live in Utah, and because Amaechi played in Utah, this has been a big story here. And apparently, Amaechi did come out to one teammate while he played for the Jazz. Amaechi was quoted in the Deseret News today saying he came out to Andrei Kirilenko, who was very supportive and who later invited Amaechi and his companion to his (Kirilenko's) Christmas party. Amaechi says he wishes he'd come out to his other close friend on the team, Greg Ostertag, who he thinks would have been similarly untroubled by the news.
Amaechi says that Jerry Sloan was homophobic, apparently using gay bashing as a motivational technique. I find this quite unsurprising. Sloan is the sort of coach who is generally labeled 'old school,' a term which could just mean that he likes hard-nosed defense and players who set screens and pass to open teammates, but which could also carry some cultural baggage, I suppose. The Utah media reaction has generally been 'who cares, he was a lousy player anyway.' But that raises a point.
The fact is, Amaechi wasn't a lousy player before he came to the Jazz. The Jazz signed him for the 2001-2002 season. Previously, for Orlando, he'd averaged 10.5 and 7.9 points a game, 3.3 rebounds a game both seasons. He was a mobile big man with some offensive skills, not much of a rebounder. The Jazz were glad to get him, as a complement to Ostertag, who was immobile, a good rebounder and defender, and an offensive liability. But for the Jazz, his PPG fell to 3.2 and 2.0, and by the end of his second season, he hardly played at all.
Was his drop off in production merely what we might expect for a 31 year old back-up center? Or was it a reaction to an increasingly hostile work environment? We'll never know. But I remember Amaechi well, as an exceptionally bright, funny, cultured man, a superb interview and as someone who really immersed himself in Salt Lake City's cultural scene. I always liked him, and I always rooted for him, and I'd rather not remember him as just a pioneer. The Jackie Robinson parallel is apt, but not must because Robinson became an important symbol. He was also a wonderful, fiercely combative ballplayer. We should remember both what he stood for and who he was.
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Oral Roberts
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Creepy to root for Oral Roberts? A little, sure. But lots of schools have that problem. Like George Mason (slaveowner!), Brigham Young (polygamist!), or Xavier (Jesuit casuist!).
Although they didn't make the tournament, my favorite is Robert Morris, which gets shortened to Rob Morris on the SportsCenter scroll, leaving me to imagine the Colts outside linebacker valiantly going one on five against various Northeast Conference foes.
Anyway, at least it's just Oral Roberts. Does Bob Jones U play hoops?
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The Derek Fisher connection
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As with everything else in the NBA playoffs this year, this story too has a Derek Fisher angle.
If anyone is going to protest this ridiculous decision, it would have to be their union, the NBA Player's Association.
The President of the Player's Association is Derek Fisher.
But if Fisher does decide to file a protest, it might look like some bizarre sort of favoritism. The Jazz, after all, play the winner of the Spurs/Suns series. And the Jazz had a better record against the Suns than they had against the Spurs (3-1 vs. 2-2). It might look as though Fisher would rather play the Suns, and is protesting to help that happen.
None of that's going to happen, of course. Even if the union did protest, there's no history of David Stern paying it any attention. But there it is. D-Fish has become sort of the Kevin Bacon of this year's playoffs.
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Give defenders a chance
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Get rid of charging? Nonsense. What would be the penalty, then, for an offensive player just bulling his way to the basket?
I'm all for eliminating flopping, but really, the biggest problem is that officials don't call enough offensive fouls, not that they call too many. If the defensive player establishes a position, stands with his arms straight up, and the offensive player leans into him and shoots, they call it a defensive foul far too often, especially if the defensive player's hand touches the shooter's hand. But that's an offensive foul, and should be called as such. But 80% of the time, they call it wrong, unless the offensive player is Tim Duncan, in which case count on them never getting it right.
Good defensive play involves moving your feet, getting yourself in position directly between the offensive player and the basket. If you've done that, you shouldn't be penalized for it. The really egregious flopping calls come when a shooter takes a jump shot, then flings himself backwards to the floor.
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Uh, Adams and Jefferson became great friends
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]FWIW, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson became terrific friends. They spent the last years of their lives writing back and forth, and their correspondence is one of the treasures of American literature.
And yes, both Bergman and Antonioni were masters. Impossible really to say who was better.