The end of the NBA lockout

Every time I heard the phrase “basketball-related-income” the past few months, it practically caused me to throw up in my mouth. The term of course, referred to one of the main issues in the NBA’s labor dispute, which ended on Nov. 26 after lasting about five months.

I’ve always enjoyed following the NBA. However, following the business of the NBA and feeling obligated to analyze the NBA’s financials like an eager associate at Goldman Sachs left me feeling pretty sour.

Especially because the settlement that finally was reached, was one that could have been reached last June. Lockouts that last five months are not natural phenomena. They don’t just happen, and they don’t occur because both sides are at fault. Lockouts that last five months are attempts by management to exercise control over their workers.

Anyone that has followed the NBA closely knows Commissioner David Stern, and team owners love to have control. For example, Stern at one point sought to maintain control over Allen Iverson’s rap lyrics. In 2005, he implemented a dress code for his players. Last season, the NBA-which is to say David Stern-came down with a rule that stated that headbands cannot be worn upside down or inside out.

So when Stern started going around explaining that 22 of his 30 franchises were losing money, and that owners needed a bigger cut of “basketball-related-income” (BRI) it was obvious the players wouldn’t agree, and there’d be a lockout.

In the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), players received 57 percent of BRI. The owners wanted to lower the players share to about 50 percent, and while the players fought back for awhile, they realized that losing a whole season of pay wouldn’t outweigh the benefit of receiving a higher cut of BRI in the new CBA.

In the end, the players took a reduction in the amount of BRI they will receive. Players and owners settled on a financial split where players will earn between 49 and 51 percent of BRI depending on league growth

The players did win some concessions in regards to the league’s salary structure and in the rules regarding free agency. That was pretty much it after five months of loud public wrangling.

Though the owners got most of what they wanted, I’m sure most of them are still unhappy. Owners should take solace in the fact that by reducing the player’s share of BRI by seven percent, they will net over three billion dollars more than the previous deal over the life of the 10-year contract.

With an agreement finally reached, the 66 game season that has been agreed upon will start on Christmas Day.

Play during the first couple weeks of the season may be played at a pre-season caliber given how little time teams will have to prepare. Also, veterans may struggle later in the season given the little amount of off days team will have. As Charles Barkley said during the 1998-1999 lockout, “I can’t play three days in a row. I can’t have sex three days in a row.”

The season should be a great one overall though, and the playoffs should prove to produce some of the best play in years. Last year was arguably the best NBA season of the past decade, and the 2012 version should be even better.

We’ll get to see if Dirk and Kobe have another title in them; if Boston’s Big Four and San Antonio’s Big Three can make one more title run before they scatter to the wind; if the up-and-coming Bulls and Thunder can finally break through and make the Finals. And yes, as awful as it is to imagine, we’ll get to see if the Heat and their Big Three can make good on their promise to win a championship. Without a NBA season we never would’ve gotten the chance to find out.

While the lockout wasn’t an ideal situation for players, owners or fans, it’s certainly better to have the NBA season start late than not start at all.

Paterno deserves no pity

The scandal at Penn State is unfolding at the speed of sound, not just as the worst sports scandal in modern history but also as one of the worst scandals in modern  history.

            A former Penn State assistant coach for 29 years and alleged sexual predator, Jerry Sandusky, apparently continued unchecked because of the failure of university officials and head football coach deity Joe Paterno to do anything that might have made a difference.

            The horror of it all, both in terms of what Sandusky allegedly did and what Penn State officials did not, can be summed up by a single scene.

            According to page six of the Grand Jury report, a 28-year-old football graduate assistant named Mike McQueary was in the locker room of the Lasch Football Building on the Penn State Campus at 9:30 on the Friday night of March 1, 2002. McQueary was putting some newly purchased sneakers into his locker, and getting some recruiting tapes to watch. As he entered the locker room doors, he was surprised to find the lights and showers on. McQueary then heard rhythmic, slapping sounds which he believed to be of sexual activity. He looked inside and according to his grand-jury testimony, saw the cause of the sound: a naked child of roughly 10 years old with his hands up against the wall with a naked Sandusky butt-f–king him from behind.

            Sick? Yes. Beyond disturbing? Absolutely. Immediate grounds for calling the police? Of course. What was actually done?

              Nothing except the passing of the buck up the food chain where too many people know that something awful has happened and try to bury it.

            McQueary, who witnessed the incident, witnessed it, doesn’t call the police, although he is 28. Instead, he tells his father. His father advises him to tell Paterno. He tells Paterno.

            Unless fondling of young boys by assistant football coaches at Penn State is commonplace and encouraged, Paterno should have gone to the police. Or being the father figure he supposedly is, he should have told McQueary that he has to go to the police and will accompany him, given that he is the most powerful and popular man in the state of Pennsylvania.

            Instead, Paterno did nothing but fulfill his minimal obligation. He passed along the information to Athletic Director Tim Curley.  The obviousness that Sandusky was doing something monstrous was apparently far less important than such crucial pursuits as watching game films of the last Michigan game.

            Curley then notified senior vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz, who told University President Graham Spanier. The only action they took consisted of taking away Sandusky’s keys to the locker room.

            Because of this, Sandusky subsequently partook in oral and anal sex with a male, roughly 13 years old, more than 20 times in 2007 and 2008 according to the grand-jury findings of fact.

            So when Paterno announced on Nov. 8, that he would retire at the end of the football season, the Penn State Board of Trustees made the right decision and fired him later in the day. Spanier was also fired from his position as president.

            The firing of the man affectionately known as “JoePa” brought an end to one of the most storied coaching careers—not just in college football but in all of sports. Paterno has 409 victories — a record for major college football — won two national titles and guided five teams to unbeaten, untied seasons. He reached 300 wins faster than any other coach. Paterno also raised millions of dollars for Penn State in his career and improved a countless number of lives. He was PennState.

            Because of this, the firing sparked riots that night on the campus of PennState, with thousands of students marching in unison throughout the campus and the downtown area. CNN and ESPN had live footage, and HappyValley all of a sudden turned into CreepyValley.

            Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh said it best that night when he tweeted, “After the buzz wears off and sobering reality sinks in, they will realize that they were defending the right to cover up pedophilia. As much as they love JoePa, that’s the harsh reality.”

            Paterno did a lot of good throughout his career, and was always viewed as an honorable man. Now, that’s all in question. His career may be remembered how it ended, with this scandal.

            The Penn State  ootball program and school in general will obviously suffer, and may never be the same. No recruit in their right mind or big-name coach will want to clean up this mess. Many regular, prospective students and their parents will be turned off by the fact that the school granted emeritus status to Sandusky.

            Don’t feel bad for Paterno or PennState football though. Feel bad for the victims of Sandusky.

College basketball cram session 2011

I hope all college basketball fans recognize that this has the potential to be an epic year in college basketball across the board. Based in part on the uncertainty of the NBA lockout, more superstars returned to college this season than in any since the onset of the one-and-done era. Stars such as Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones and Terrence Jones have returned to combine with freshman studs such as Austin Rivers, Andre Drummond and Anthony Davis to ensure that the talent level in college basketball will be its highest in morethan a decade. Without further ado, here’s a brief outlook at the 2011-2012 season.

Pre-season Power Rankings

1.) North Carolina

The 2008-09 Tarheels were one of the best teams in the history of college basketball. Their average margin of victory in the tournament was over 20 points per game. Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson were selected in the first round of
the 2009 draft. Danny Green scratched his way into the league and found playing time. Ed Davis went in the lottery a year later. The 2011-12 team is more talented than that team was.  They have a super talented and efficient point guard in Kendall Marshall and a sweet-shooting wing with a knack for knocking down big shots  in Harrison Barnes. They have a five-star freshman forward who can concentrate his effort on the defensive side of the floor  in James McAdoo and they have a low-post player who can take over games  in Tyler Zeller. They have an athletic two guard who can bear down on defense and help push the tempo in Dexter Strickland. They have one of the best coaches in the country. Simply put, they have it all.

2.) Ohio State

They have a unanimous selection in pre-season All-American Jared Sullinger leading the way, along with scrappy point guard Aaron Craft. The Buckeyes were the best team inthe country for much of last season and did not lose much. William Buford,
Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas, Jordan Sibert, Lenzelle Smith Jr. and McDonald’s All-American recruit Shannon Scott can all
make it rain.

3.) Kentucky

Kentucky welcomes arguably its’ best recruiting class in school history, and that obviously speaks volumes. Anthony Davis,
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer were all McDonald’s All-Americans. Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague were each ranked among the top five players in the country. Sophomore Terrence Jones is a stud. Collectively, they represent
potentially the best test yet for Calipari’s philosophy that the way to success is to simply get the best players.

4.) Duke

Freshmen Austin Rivers will lead the way as he might be the most dynamic player at Duke since Jay Williams. Along with Rivers, Duke has two solid guards in Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins and two forwards in Ryan Kelly and Michael Gbinije. Mason and
Miles Plumlee will have to step up in the post if Duke wants to make the Final Four. In years past, the Plumlee brothers have been guilty of playing terrible help side defense, committing stupid fouls and getting so excited when they manage to dunk that an overenthusiastic foul on the ensuing defensive possession is practically a guarantee.

5.) Syracuse

Last season, the Orangewent 27-8 in a season initially dedicated to grooming a collection of talented youngsters. Now, with four starters and nine of their 10 leading scorers returning, the Orange are constructed as a contender should be. Syracuse’s
championship aspirations rest primarily on Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche, a trio of veteran playmakers simultaneously poised for standout seasons. Sophomore Fab Melo needs to step up after a disappointing freshman season.

Pre-season All-American team

G-Jordan Taylor,Wisconsin

G-Tu Holloway, Xavier

F-Terrence Jones,Kentucky

F-Jeremy Lamb, Uconn

C-Jared Sullinger,OhioState

All-name team

IndianaFaithfull, Wofford

Scooter Gillette,Niagara

Orion Outterbridge, Rhode Island

Four McGlynn,Vermont

Staats Battles, North Carolina State

Sleepers

Belmont, Temple, Wichita State, Creighton and New Mexico are teams that should have very solid seasons and have the potential to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Drinking Game, coaches style

1. Every time a vein pops in Tom Izzo’s head, take a drink

2. Every time Bruce Weber’s face turns beat red, take a drink

3. Every time Roy Williams takes off his glasses and/or suit coat, take a drink

4. Every time Frank Martin smiles, finish your drink

5. Every time a coach slaps the floor to encourage his team, finish your drink.

Epstein could break the curse

Once upon a time, not too long ago, the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox were seen as very similar franchises.

Both were viewed as loveable losers-the Red Sox from the American League and the Cubs from the National League. Most living people had never seen either of them win a World Series. Both played, and still play in antique, quirky little ballparks that some
people want to blow up and some want to gild.

Both were cursed; the Cubs by a Billy Goat and the Red Sox by the Great Bambino.

In mid-October of 2003, it looked like that was all about to change. While the Red Sox were getting ousted by the Yankees in the ALCS, the Cubs were hot, on a roll, the world was behind them. They were five outs from the World Series.

Then a foul ball was hit into the right field bleachers and some fan interfered. Cubs’ shortstop Alex Gonzales then committed an error on a play that would’ve ended the inning. The Florida Marlins scored eight runs before the inning ended and the Cubs lost
that game and the next. Season over.

The next year, the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918. They won again in 2007.  Curse over.

The Cubs? Nothing. Never.

One of the main reasons the Red Sox have had so much success the past decade, is because they have arguably the best General Manager in baseball. His name is Theo Epstein.

The Red Sox hired Epstein in 2002 when he was a mere child, only 28-years-old, which made him the youngest General Manager in baseball history. Since Epstein took over, the Red Sox have been the most successful team in baseball, undoubtedly the team of the decade.

They’ve won two World Series, made the playoffs six times and never finished below .500. For a few years they overthrew the Yankees as the dominant franchise in baseball.

Sure, Epstein has made some bad moves, but every General Manager does at some point. And yes, the 2011 Red Sox just suffered the biggest September collapse in baseball history, but even with that collapse the team Epstein constructed still won 90 games.
There certainly have been much worse teams put together.

After the Red sox choked away their massive wild card lead in September, they let manager Terry Francona go. With that, there has been speculation that maybe Epstein is sick of Boston, and maybe the Red Sox aren’t as fond of Epstein as they once were.

The Cubs of course, are looking for a General Manager after they recently fired Jim Hendry. If the Cubs want to put an end to their curse and win their first World Series since 1908, they need to hire Epstein away from the Red Sox.

Multiple reports in recent weeks suggested Epstein won’t leave his hometown team. Other reports said he told friends he would embrace the challenge of being General Manager of the Cubs.

Tom Ricketts, the chairman of the family-owned Cubs, has long admired the model the Red Sox have used for success, and the word is Ricketts wants Epstein

Ricketts has asked permission from the Red Sox to interview Epstein, who still has one year left on his contract in Boston.
The Red sox have yet to respond to Ricketts.

Ricketts needs to try harder, given the current situation of the Cubs.

They just finished twenty games under .500 and averaged about 2,000 less fans per game than they did in 2010. They have a manager in Mike Quade who is as popular with Cubs fans as Screech was in Saved by the Bell.

Cubs’ fans are getting restless. The curse needs to end.

There is only man who can save them.

The unconditional love of a sports fan

If there has ever been a difficult year to enjoy sports, 2011 takes the cake.

While there have been plenty of great games, our favorite leagues have had more issues than a marriage
involving Charlie Sheen.

For nearly five months we listened to NFL owners and players bicker at each other throughout the lockout.

Billionaire owners complained they weren’t getting a fair share of the leagues’ revenue as they lobbied for rookie wage scales and a longer season among other things. Player’s such as Minnesota Vikings running-back Adrian Peterson compared the NFL to modern-day slavery.

Retired NFL players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the owners, while U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ruled the lockout should be lifted to save players irreversible damage. Her ruling was then appealed and overturned.

When the lockout finally ended on July 25, teams rushed to sign free agents before the start of preseason, since they couldn’t during the lockout, making Adam Schefter the busiest man in the world for a few days.

Of course it’s not just pro-football that’s been messier than a frat house this year. While
we knew there would be a season in 2011, college football has had more issues than the cast of Celebrity Rehab.

Miamigot in trouble for dozens of past and former players receiving illegal gifts from Nevin Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi schemer and Miami booster from 2002-2010. Shapiro told Yahoo Sports, who broke the story that he spent “millions” on Miami players, ranging from sex parties on his yacht, to expensive jewelry to an abortion for a woman impregnated by a Hurricane player.

Some of the other big-time college football programs that committed violations were Ohio State, Southern Cal, Auburn,North Carolina, Oregon,Tennessee and LSU.

Kirk Herbstreit, the award-winning college football analyst for ESPN, told CNN.com, “I honestly don’t think the sport has ever had as tumultuous of an off-season as we had during this year. I do mean, ever, and I’m referring to the entire history of the sport.”

And we haven’t even begun to talk about conference realignment, which has me more confused than I ever was in calculus. The Pac-10 is now the Pac-12. The Big Ten has twelve teams with newcomer Nebraska. The Big 12 is soon to be the Big 8 and Pittsburgh and Syracuse are the newest members of the ACC. Texas A&M is bound for the SEC.

As if football problems weren’t enough for a sports fan to deal with, the possibility of there being no NBA season in 2011 becomes more of a reality with each passing day. The NBA erased part of its season Friday, announcing it was postponing the start of training camps indefinitely and scrapping 43 preseason games because of ownership’s lockout of players.

The lockout is occurring because NBA owners claim they lost $300 million last season andthat 23 of 30 teams are losing money. They want players, who collected 57% of basketball-related income in 2010-11 — or $2.15 billion — to take a substantial cut in salary and promise to keep the total salary figure rolled back at a fixed $2 billion for at least five years.

The chances of at least a portion of the season being cancelled are high.  In 1998, the last time the NBA had a labor dispute, they cancelled the entire preseason on Oct. 6. On Oct. 14 the first two weeks of the regular-season were canceled and on Oct. 29 the first month of games were dropped. On Nov. 25, Christmas games were cancelled. Those dates are a good blueprint for what might happen this year, with many experts predicting the season won’t start until January.

This is unfortunate given how exciting the NBA was last year, and how many young stars the league has.

For any major league, the cancellation of a season deforms history, changing things such as a player’s ability to climb the ranks in career statistics like points scored or games played. Subsequent drops in TV ratings and ticket sales are likely.

It also hits the industry that is built around the training camps, preseason games and memorabilia. It cuts into the bottom
line of restaurants, bars and businesses near arenas.  Not having a season takes a lot of joy away from the fans.

What it can’t do, is take the love for the game away from fans.

Whether there’s an NBA season or not, there will still be kids in the city shoveling snow off a court in January so they can get a game or two in. Intramurals in college will live on, and fans will pack high school gyms. Men in their 40s and 50s will play after work at their local health club.

Professional and major college sports have been hard to put up with in 2011. Some fans may have been turned off from the professional leagues for good. That doesn’t matter, however, because true fans don’t need to watch a pro team to enjoy the sports they love. True fans will love sports no matter what.

Shortening season could solve MLB’s problems

  The MLB wisely scheduled opening day two weeks earlier than usual this year, because let’s face it; baseball in the snow is like ice fishing in the Bahamas. It doesn’t work, it’s not meant to be.

Playoff games, while still an amazing experience, are harder for fans to enjoy when they can’t feel their toes. For players, the thought of getting jammed by a Mariano Rivera cutter in twenty degree weather sounds as appealing as flossing an alligator.

Two weeks may not seem like much, but the difference in weather between the first and third week in November, in cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia andDetroit can be quite drastic.

Ending their season two weeks earlier also marks two less weeks the MLB has to fight with the NFL for ratings. This is a major plus because the MLB, as they have realized, will most likely lose that battle.

However, the MLB season shouldn’t even leak into November. Ideally the season would be cut by another two weeks, and not by starting the season earlier. What the MLB should do is return to their roots. They should cut the season from 162 games back to the original 154 game format.

The season as is, is too long. It feels dragged out. With the season beginning in March and ending in November, it’s hard for even the most die-hard baseball fans to keep a pique interest throughout the whole season unless their team is in contention

 Also, if the idea of adding another wild-card playoff round comes to fruition, a team could end up playing some 220 games in a season counting spring training, regular season and postseason games. 

The thought of that is absurd.

Players’ bodies already struggle to handle the strain. Pitchers wear down on a regular basis, causing teams to experiment with six man rotations and different training programs. Players also break down emotionally and mentally. Eight less games may not reduce these issues drastically, but would only help.

I know those against returning to a 154-game season would argue baseball is a game that relies on its’ tradition, its’ records and its’ history.

Well, the 154-game season is baseball’s history. In 1961 the American League expanded their schedule to 162 games and the National League followed suit in 1962.

Before that Jackie Robinson broke into the major leagues in a 154-game season. Ted Williams hit .400 in a 154-game season. Lefty Grove won 31 games in a 154-game season and Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in a 154-game season.  The 154-game season is baseball’s heritage.

Of course, many important records have been set since the MLB expanded to a 162-game season. More specifically, the single-season home run record has been broken multiple times.

In 1961, the first year the MLB played 162 games; Roger Maris hit 61 home runs to break Ruth’s record. It’s worth noting it took him more than 154-games to get to 61.

Mark McGwire then hit 70 home runs in 1998 and Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001.

 McGwire and then Bonds holding the single-season home run record has been very controversial among baseball fans and experts, because both guys were more juiced up than Ronnie from Jersey Shore when they set the record. Neither are likely to get elected to the Hall of Fame. Baseball fans have to recognize Bonds’ record, but they don’t want to.

 By going back to a 154-game season for good, the problem would essentially solve itself. All of a sudden, the single-season home run record would once again belong to Babe Ruth with 60.

 The 162-game records would not be erased. They would have their place in the record books, forever pointing to a 50-year era in the games’ wonderful history. The basis of the games’ history however, needs to return where it belongs; the 154-game season.

Reality TV Fantasy League

WRITERS NOTE: The website home for this league is here. With the season underway, the site already has many posts, so be sure to keep up with it!

 

Illini golfers take Western Amateur by storm

The University of Illinois golf program is being well-represented at the Western Amateur this week. The tournament, whose past winners include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus is taking place this week at North Shore Country Club in Glenview,IL from Aug. 1-6.

With four Illini playing in the tournament, only Oklahoma  State has more representatives with five players. Redshirt junior Mason Jacobs, senior Luke Guthrie, junior Ross Frankenburg and incoming freshman Alex Burge are the current Illini competing. Scott Langley, who graduated in May and ended his career as one of the most decorated golfers in Illinois history is also competing.

“It shows that Illinois is a great program and it’s exciting to have so many of our guys here, Langleysaid. I think we can all fair very well this week.”

Jacobs, Guthrie, Burge and Langley played together during the practice round on Monday. The foursome stood out for looking like a regular group of college friends enjoying a round of golf on a Monday afternoon. They told jokes on the tee box and walked in a tight line down most of the fairways, conversing and laughing.

“It’s nice to have your friends here, and to have people to hang out with while you’re here, Langleysaid. It definitely helps.”

What only separated them from a normal group of friends enjoying a round of golf was their stellar play. Langley, Jacobs and Guthrie, along with Frankenburg helped the Illini to a Big Ten championship in May and a fifth place finish at the NCAA Golf Championships in June, which was the highest finish for the Illini since they finished fourth in 1941.

Burge will join the Illini in the fall. While at Bloomington high school he twice finished in the top three in the IHSA Class 2A State Tournament. The Western-Amateur figures to be an experience that should help prepare him for college golf in the fall.

“It’s always good to get experience in a deep field on a tough course, Burge said. I think playing here will help a lot going into this fall.”           

Langley, who won the 2010 NCAA individual National Championship, figures to be in the hunt for the win this week.

“As far as processed goals go, I’m just challenging myself to stay in my tempo the whole week, Langleysaid. That’ll be they key.”

Guthrie, who was First Team All-Big Ten in the spring, hopes to be playing on Friday.

The format of the Western Amateur is 18 holes on Tuesday, 18 holes on Wednesday and 36 holes on Thursday before the cut is made. On Friday, the sixteen remaining golfers play 36 holes of match play on Friday, before the final four and eventually final two duke it out in match play on Saturday.

            “I just want to find my way to the top sixteen come Friday, Guthrie said. Once you get there to match play anything can happen.”

            Both Langley and Guthrie have similar strategies for attacking the course.

            “The biggest thing is you just have to do whatever you can to keep the ball in play, in the fairway, Langleysaid. If you do that you can make birdies, but if not it’s going to be hard.”

            Guthrie agreed but noted that it’d be important to stay focused when he’s not hitting the fairways. “You have to keep in mind that you’re going to miss some fairways, so if you go through a rough start it’s not that big of a deal. You just have to keep your head in it.”

            With the field the Western Amateur features in 2011, staying focused will be vital for all the Illini golfers as they try to make the cut to Friday. 

            Tom Lewis, the top Amateur at the 2011 British Open and Patrick Cantlay the top amateur at the 2011 U.S. Open are in the field. The defending tournament champion, David Chung of Stanford, and defending U.S. Amateur champion, Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State are in the field as well.

            Despite the talent the field has, Langley, a lefty with pinpoint accuracy doesn’t hesitate to state what his intentions are this week.

            “I definitely want to win,Langleysaid. There’s no point in playing if you don’t want to win.”

The evolution of a Cubs hater

 As I hopped out of my mothers van and walked towards the entrance to my elementary school, I felt my stomach drop. I knew what I was about to face that morning, and was not looking forward to it. I didn’t have a brutal math test, nor did I have to give a speech in front of the class. I even completed all my homework due for that day, so I wouldn’t be subject to the wrath of  Mrs. Tuck for missing yet another assignment. What I was about to face was much worse than all those scenarios mixed into one.

As I walked into school I put my head down so I could avoid all eye contact. As I started to unload my book bag, the taunting began.

“Hey Alex, what happened to the White Sox last night?” heckled one voice.

“Sox suck, Sox suck, Sox suck,” another voice sang aloud.

“How about those Cubbies…WOOT WOOT WOOT!” Arthur shouted. I had yet to look up but knew it was Arthur, because he still talked like a girl even though we were in the seventh grade. 

“Whatever, you guys can think what you want” I said with a shoulder shrug. This was going to be a long day.

It was the first week in May, and indeed the White Sox had lost the night prior to a division foe, while the Cubs picked up a victory against an opponent from the National League. Both teams were hovering around the .500 mark at that point.

Only one month into the baseball season, and I had already grown tired of arguing with these fools. I had already tried explaining to them that the baseball season is a marathon of 162 games, not a sprint. Surely, I brought to their attention that the team with the Major League record for most wins in a season still lost 46 games. Winning or losing a game at the beginning of May really wasn’t that big of a deal either way.

They wouldn’t hear it though. The Sox sucked, and the Cubs ruled.

See, I was only one of three White Sox fans in my entire grade and I certainly was the most passionate. The rest were Cubs “fans”.  A handful of them were legitimate Cubs fans. They actually watched baseball, knew the players on the team and had a decent grasp of the game.

The vast majority of them however,  were Cubs “fans”. They didn’t know what a balk was, didn’t know who Ernie Banks was and couldn’t name one-third of the players on the current team.  These were the kids that would taunt me every single time the Sox lost a game and the Cubs won a game. Even if it was only May. Even if the White Sox had a better record.

*********************

I had never been much of a Cubs fan when I was younger. I didn’t have anything against them, I just was always a big White Sox fan. It didn’t help that the first time I went to Wrigley Field when I was eight, I came away from the experience thoroughly dissapointed. My Uncle John (huge Cubs fan) hyped it up so much, I was expecting to see one of the seven wonders of the world. But then I actually went there. The troughs? Gross. The stadium? Dirty. The hot dogs? Sucked. The team? Sucked. They got embarrassed that day by Randy Johnson and Diamondbacks. The Bars? Hey, I was eight.

The Cubs just weren’t for me. But I didn’t hate them yet.

That came a couple of years later when the taunting started from the Cubs “fans” in my grade. Why’d it start? I’m still not sure. In my grade, being a Cubs fan was the popular thing to be for whatever reason. Being a Sox fan wasn’t cool, and I was a big, big Sox fan. 

When I knew I’d get heckled relentlessly and classlessly every time the Cubs won and the Sox lost, that made me hate the Cubs. Like always, I obviously would be rooting for the Sox to win, but now I HAD to root passionately for the Cubs to lose to avoid the torture at school the next day. Rooting against the Cubs became a habit and I legitimately hated to see them win. A Cubs win meant I’d have to listen to a kid that didn’t know how to swing a bat, or a kid that didn’t know what a 6-4-3 double play was, brag to me about how much better the Cubs were than the Sox. A Cubs win also meant I’d have to hear about how great Sammy Sosa was, and how big of an “idiot” I was for suggesting Sosa was on steroids, and that he didn’t accidentally pick up a corked bat.

When the Sox and Cubs actually played each other in the Crosstown Classic, that took things to a whole different level. Since the Crosstown Classic is usually over the summer the shit-talk would come at me on AIM (totally taking away from my purpose of being on AIM which was to flirt with girls). I watched every pitch of these games from the tip of my seat, on edge the whole time. The Sox HAD to win the Crosstown Classic. My dignity for the rest of the year would rely on it. In my grade school days, the White Sox only made the playoffs once. As long as they beat the Cubs four out of six games, I was happy enough with the season.

************************

I nearly didn’t survive the fall of my eighth grade year. It was 2003 and the Cubs were making a deep run in the playoffs. They won their division, beat the Braves in the NLDS and had the Marlins on the ropes with a 3-1 series lead. The Cubs were one game from the World Series and my classmates took obnoxious to another level. They couldn’t just root for their team, they had to rub The Cubs’ success in my face and remind me the Sox had failed to make the playoffs. The day of game 6, my grade had a “Cubs day” where every one could where Cubs apparrell to class instead of our uniforms. I was one of three people to wear my uniform. The taunting was out of control.

That night, I watched in my basement, biting my nails and pulling my hair out as the Cubs took a 3-0 lead into the 8th inning. I was coming up with excuses to miss school the next day. I’d make myself throw up if I had to.

Then Bartman interfered with a foul ball, Alex Gonzalez made a costly error and the Marlins made them pay. I could go to school the next day.

The Cubs lost game seven as the Marlins went on to win the World Series.

Phew. Close call. I survived eighth grade amongst a bunch of Cubs fans.

Barely.

*****************

When I graduated grade school and moved on high school, I expected my hate for the Cubs to diminish. Barely anyone from my grade school went to the same high school as me and I’d be around a lot more White Sox fans.

However, my hatred for the Cubs continued throughout high school. The damage was done. My grade school classmates made me hate the Cubs. It was ingrained in me. I still rooted against them every game they played and I swore I would be a happy man if they never won a World Series. My intensity during the Crosstown Classic didn’t lessen one bit either. The Sox had to win the series. If they didn’t, the season was a failure in my eyes.

************

Lately I have noticed I don’t hate the Cubs anywhere near as much as I used to. I attribute this to a few things. One, the Sox winning the World Series in 2005 pretty much silenced Cubs fans that claimed superiority over the White Sox until they win one of their own. This has put me at ease. Two, Sammy Sosa obviously being exposed as a juiced up cheater. Most knowledgeable Cubs fan admit this, though I’m sure my grade school classmates disagree. However, the biggest reason I don’t hate the Cubs as much is because my wounds from grade school have begun to heal. I don’t keep in touch with many kids from grade school, but mainly the more time that passes, the more I am able to forget about theuneducated Cubs “fans” that cursed my favorite team for so many years.

************

On Memorial day, I went to a Cubs/Astros game at Wrigley field, and was able to sit there in apathy for 9 innings. I wasn’t rooting for them to lose.

As I write this, the Crosstown Classic is tied 1-1 with the rubber match to be played tomorrow night. Of course I want the Sox to win. However, if they don’t, I’ll be able to walk with my chin up the next day.

I couldn’t say the same thing five years ago.

The Great Shaq-tini

Upon Shaquille O’Neal’s retirement from basketball this past week, it caused me, like many others to reflect on his career.  That’s what  fans like to do when an all-time great retires from their sport. For one, we like to figure out where they rank in the grand scheme of things. Mainly however, we want to convince ourselves we witnessed something special by following this player for the past ten, fifteen or in Shaq’s case, 20 years.

Though I eventually figured out where I would rank Shaq as an all-time great, it took awhile for me to get there. Mainly because all I could think about was how unique Shaq’s career was. We never have and probably never will see anything like Shaquille O’Neal again.

I found this fitting, because my feelings toward Shaq have been unique as well. Like most fans, I usually love a player, hate them or feel indifferently towards them. With Shaq I felt all three ways about him, multiple times throughout his career.

I couldn’t help but love him when he broke in with the Magic, hated him when he teamed up with Kobe Bryant to form a dynasty in Los Angeles, loved him again when he won a title with the Miami Heat, was indifferent for awhile, then loved him again.  At the point of his retirement? I really couldn’t tell you how I feel about him. I just don’t know.

He bounced around six teams, leaving himself without a franchise that has really embraced him as their own.

Three times upon leaving a team (Magic, Lakers, Heat), he shrewedly created a controversey. He blamed Penny Hardaway’s arrogance for leaving the Magic, when really he just wanted to live in Los Angeles.  When they dumped him for his poor conditioning he deflected blame by declaring war on Kobe, even refusing to acknowledge who Bryant was in interviews the whole next year (“Kobe Who?”). When Miami got rid of him because he looked washed up and out-of-shape, he played the whole “I feel betrayed by Pat Riley” card, again diffusing the fact, that he was indeed out of shape and past his prime. He would make a great politician.

Then again, it’s not like Shaq was a bad guy. Steve Kerr has talked about how Shaq would go to Wal-Mart after home games and hang out by the cash register to pay for customers and just hang out with them. Outside of Charles Barkley and Kevin McHale, he had the best sense of humor of any NBA player to play in the past 25 years. He had a lot of nicknames.  He called himself “The Big Aristotle” for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O’Neal several nicknames including  “The Diesel”,  “Superman”, “The Big Shaqtus”, and  “Dr. Shaq” (after earning his MBA), to name a few. I like to call him the “The Great Shaqtini” myself.

There’s no doubt Shaq was a great player.  First of all, he was 7’1, 325 pounds with softer hands than a baby’s behind, a smooth jump hook and a mean drop step.  He was a physical presence like none the NBA has ever seen, yet had a skill set as good as any center in NBA history.

In the 2000 NBA Finals he averaged an absurd 38 points and 17 rebounds per game. His performance in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 Finals didn’t lag much, as he averaged 33 points and 16 rebounds and 36 points and 12 rebounds. He was MVP in all three series. That just shows, when Shaq focused he was the most dominant player on the planet.

However, basketball was only his primary focus in one season (2000), and the other 19 he was distracted by other things.

 In the 90′s he mistakenly thought he could act and rap. He played a magical genie in the movie Kazaam, which wasn’t even awful in a fun way, it was just awful. He starred in the movie Blue Chips. He released five rap albums, guest starred on sitcoms, co-hosted Monday Night Raw and starred in three different reality shows of his own.

Shaq turned out to be the least competitive superstar of all time. He enjoyed winning but wasn’t crushed by losing. He coasted on physical skills. Basketball just wasn’t as much fun as everything else happening in his life.

  In his prime, Shaq should’ve been the MVP every season, yet he only won one regular season MVP his whole career. He averaged 23 points and 11 boards for his career. Very good, but should’ve been better. He won four titles, but got swept out of the playoffs six other times, including the 1995 finals where he got schooled by Hakeem Olajuwon.

He had the potential to be a top-five player of all time. Instead, I have him around the 15th greatest of all time, and as the fifth best center of all time, behind Bill Russell, Kareem-Abdul Jabaar, Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon. He left a lot on the table in my opinion. But then again, my opinion doesn’t really matter.

Shaq seemed more than satisifed with his career when he announced his retirement at his house, which has a lake for a backyard and the choice of dipping into his swimming pool (19 feet deep to accommodate Shaq-dives), and  which apparently also had plenty of space for camera setups inside and TV trucks out front.

The entire compound served as a reminder of what the self-described poor kid from Newark, N.J., accomplished by adhering to the lessons from his parents. He may not have fulfilled his potential as a basketball player, but his success as a whole has been larger than himself. And that’s pretty damn large.