Black Ball Sports

Daunte Culpepper and Byron Leftwich are both jobless as we approach training camp. How can this possibly be? Culpepper was once one of the better Quarterback’s in the NFL. And Leftwich, while not the greatest stats ever, was always a winner in Jacksonville.

Culpepper had one of the best years in NFL history with the Vikings in 2004, when he passed for 4,714 yards with 39 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. And his career passer rating (89.9) rivals those of perennial Pro Bowlers Donovan McNabb and Carson Palmer. Mind you those are from years past, but there are too many David Carr’s and Mark Brunell’s on roster’s that makes you wonder why specifically Culpepper can’t get another shot.

Leftwich, who was in the same draft class as Kyle Boller also is still looking for work. So Kyle Boller is still on a roster and doesn’t have the careers stats or hasn’t shown the same leadership skills as Leftwich, but he is actually competing for a job. Leftwich does have a funky delivery and isn’t the most accurate passer, but how is he not in someone’s training camp competing for at least a backup job. He has shown the ability when in the right circumstance to be a winning quarterback and isn’t that what it’s all about.

When you look around and see the Casey Bramlets, Brooks Bollinger, Luke and Josh McCown and other assorted non descript quarterbacks still on rosters it makes you wonder why a former Pro Bowler like Culpepper doesn’t even get invited to a camp. Maybe Donovan McNabb was correct in his assessment of how the Black QB is still thought of in the league.

Backup quarterbacks are usually supposed to be cerebral and ready to play on a moments notice. Are Culpepper and Leftwich not thought to have those attributes? And what reason would that be? It would be difficult to maybe bring them into to a situation where you have a young starter who you don’t want looking over their shoulder. But you can’t tell me that if Todd Collins can come in a lead the Redskins on a five game run to the playoffs, Culpepper and Leftwich couldn’t offer that same kind of security blanket to some team. Todd Collins hadn’t started a game in 10 years when he came in for the Redskins last year. And yet both Culpepper and Leftwich started in the NFL last year.

They both were highly drafted quarterbacks and in Culpepper’s case highly successful. Someone, somewhere will have to tell me McNabb was wrong…

The Boston Celtics won their record 17th NBA Championship. They did it with determination, defense and domination. Their win was so dominate in game 6, I won’t even dignify their opponent by mentioning them or their players by name. Instead, I’m going to focus on the Champs, the ones deserving of having their names highlighted.

Kevin “Big Ticket” Garnett finally broke through to remove the loser tag and the “great player, but can’t get it done” label. Clearly, he felt the pressure, and took action. He was dominate inside, and his one handed lob while being fouled in the second quarter demonstrated that he came to play. It is amazing how a guy can change his entire career image in just one game. Garnett will never again be Garnott.

Paul “The Truth” Pierce proved he’s worthy of his nickname. He rose to the challenge of winning a title for one of the most storied sports franchises. Pierce willingly shared the spotlight with two incoming stars. Continue Reading »

Yes, it is a cliché, but it is proving to be true again in 2008. The vaunted Patriots lost in the Superbowl because their offense was stymied by the Giants defense. The Celtics are one win away from the NBA championship. They were the league’s best defense and a heroic defensive effort in the 2nd half of game four will likely give them the final push they need to put the Lakers away.

The Celtics went back to their old standby, and it paid dividends. The thing about defense is that even when the shots aren’t falling, as long as you are physically healthy you can play defense.

Defense is about intelligence, hard work and perseverance. Stars have to check their egos at the door, and put their team first. While a player may win awards for defense, he doesn’t receive much love from fans (ever see anyone in a Bruce Bowen jersey?). You won’t get on Sportscenter by bodying up a cutter in the paint or fighting through weak side screens. Paul Pierce typifies this spirit by not shying away from playing man to man against the best offensive player in the world.

Kobe Bryant will likely take the brunt of criticism if the Lakers go onto lose this series, and that really is the burden you carry for being the MVP and best player in the league. He played the game the best he could, sure he missed some shots, but the real key was the defense the Celtics played, particularly in the second half (wait with 16 seconds left, Ray Allen just toasted Sasha Vujacic and stuck the dagger in their hearts, poor on ball defense by Vujacic and zero help with the game and possibly the series on the line).

The Lakers secondary players crumbled in the second half when Paul Pierce played Kobe tough. Kobe made the passes he’s supposed to and the role players came up weak. Put the blame on Kobe if you like, but I for one am going to give the credit to the Celtics and their defense.

I said before that great basketball is all about moments, and you’ll always remember when stars have these special moments in classic games. Neither Garnett, Pierce or Allen had a “great” game, but they were put together for this very reason, that each had unique skills when put together could become a champion. Garnett’s interior defense, excellent shot for a big man and rebounding. Pierce’s junkyard dog mentality on both ends of the court. Allen’s ability to shoot and his fearlessness in wanting the ball late in games. For two quarters tonight it all came together when the Celtics needed it most. In 20 years, when the Celtics play the Lakers in the Finals for the 40th or whatever time, game four will be replayed on ESPN Classic, as the legend of the big three will be revered in basketball lure forever.

Do you want a title? Do you want to be considered one of the greatest power forwards in the history of the game? If you answer yes to either or both of these questions then you’re going to have to show up in these NBA Finals.

Garnett shoots a jumper against LA in game 2
Credit Eric Kilby

I know you’re playing great defense and a monster on the boards. But game 3 was there for the taking. The game played out beautifully for the Celtics. Everyone knew going in Kobe was going to get 15-20 free throws. Everyone knew Kobe was going to go for 30 plus. Those who don’t believe “the Kobe has changed hype “knew Kobe was going to be overly aggressive, selfish and not get his teammates involved, except for Saaaaaaaaasha. So the game was the perfect script for a Celtics win.

Of course Paul Pierce had a bad night shooting as well. But he is a guard/forward those nights can happen because he is taking jumpers and is being guarded a lot by Kobe Bryant. But you Kevin, your 7 feet tall last I checked. No one shot more jump shots last night than you, Kevin. And I’m not talking about 10 footers you were out on the perimeter shooting so many jumpers I thought you were Sam Cassell. Just to remind you again, you are 7 foot. Get down on the box and go to work on below average defenders Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Even if your not scoring being down on the box will cause both big and small double teams. So even if you miss on the box it gives Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and PJ Brown a chance to get rebounds on the weak side. And when they double with guards it can get open looks for Allen and Pierce if the ball is swung properly. I don’t really understand why the Lakers are double-teaming you. Right now if I was the Lakers I’m leaving you and Rondo open on anything 15 feet and out. And occasional jump shot in the flow of the offense isn’t a problem. Or even if your shooting well that night. But you haven’t shot jumpers well since the first half of game 1. Get down on the box and go to work and be aggressive. There is no one on the Lakers front line that can stop you if you’re aggressive on the offensive end.

It may seem like I’m calling you out. I’m not Kevin; I like you as a player. But right in front of you, you have the opportunity to move into the conversation of top power forwards of all-time. Your contemporary, Tim Duncan, lives down on the block. Occasionally he does shoot jumpers, but mainly he is on the block. Because down there you influence the other teams defense and get to the foul line. And to be spoken in the same sentence as the greats your going to have to get buckets and have a bigger influence on your team on the offensive end. Defensively your team is controlling the Lakers, but offensively unless it is Leon Powe there is no inside scoring. But c’mon Kevin if Pow or Powe can dominate in the paint against the Lakers, why can’t you?

And do all sports fans a favor and be aggressive on offense if for no other reason to shut up Skip Bayless who calls you Kevin “Garnott.”

Thanks in advance for your consideration,

Blackballsports.com

Congratulations to Ken Griffey Jr. on his 600th home run.  I remember being about a 12 year old kid when hefirst hit the bigs, and his sweet swing was something I’d never seen before.  As naturally talented a phenom as Tiger Woods, Junior skyrocketed to being considered one of the league’s best players.  A genuinely nice guy, son of a Major League player, whom he also got to play with.

Unfortunately, Junior’s career was damaged almost the day he arrived in his home city of Cincinnati.  Prior to 2000, he launched 40 plus home runs in 6 or 7 seasons for Seattle, the only season in which he didn’t was the strike shortened 1995 season.  Additionally, he was generally healthy missing no more than 20 games since his rookie season.  But for some strange reason, his career in Cincinnati has been marred by injuries.  In 2000, he was typical Jr hitting 40 home runs over 145 games.  But until 2007, he didn’t again return to playing over 140 games, missing 698 of a possible 1134 games.  Naturally, his numbers dipped, and saw him passed over by the younger stars.

Despite his constant injury troubles, Jr continued to press on and while it took him 7 seasons he finally reached 600.  We’ll never know how many records he’d have made if he’d never run into the injuries, but one thing is pretty certain, he’s done it naturally.

Bonds and Griffey Jr. are amazingly similar players.  Sons of former ball players, they’ve been friends from youth.  They both grew up in the ball parks and seemed to be naturals on the field.  But according to media reports, roughly around 1998 Bonds took a different path, and forever tarnished his image, despite breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record.

For Junior, his career was forever altered through no decision of his own.  We’ve seen athlete after athlete throw away their talent through nothing more than stupidity, Michael Vick, Len Bias, Rae Carruth etc.  But Griffey, like Bo Jackson, was stymied by the one thing no one can outrun.

Bo Jackson and Ken Griffey Jr. should have finished their careers being known as the best player ever at their position.  They both had it all, everything that could be asked of them they could do. Neither will ever reach the heights which they seemed so destined to attain.

For Junior, I can only hope that at this stage of his career he can find some magic left in his aging body.  I can only hope, that the Reds finally find a trading partner who is on the cusp of a championship, and Griffey can have his chance to shine on the greatest stage.  And if there is any Karma in sports, I hope it leads him to a World Series Championship.

The Lakers lost last night while shooting 28 less free throws then the Celtics…blame it on the refs.

Gas prices are at $4 and headed toward $5 per gallon…blame it on the refs.

Cedric Benson is arrested again for the second time in a month…blame it on the refs.

The US never found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq….blame it on the refs.

Too much stock is put into calls and non calls in all sports. Yes, the referees didn’t have a particularly stellar game. And the free throw shooting was clearly in the Celts favor. Leon Powe shot more free throws then the entire Lakers roster. But he was all over the court with aggression, and taking the ball hard to the hoop.

Did the referees help the Celtics shoot 53% from the field and 64% from 3 point range?

The real problem is the Lakers haven’t been as consistently energized and aggressive as the Celtics. Nor has their defense been as good.  Even when they rallied in the 4th quarter, they didn’t play well defensively as the Celtics scored 25, with no garbage time free throws to skew the totals.

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All this week on Classic Sports we’ve been watching the great match-ups between the Celtics and Lakers.  And the one thing that keeps coming to my mind is how great those teams really were.  I’m not one of those people that says everything older is better, because I don’t care what my Dad or his friends tell me about Oscar, Wilt and those older guys, Michael Jordan is the best ever.  But team wise, the teams today can’t compare to yesteryear.

The Celtics starting 5 in the 1986 Finals was Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale.  And if you want to feel sorry for the Lakers don’t,  they only had Magic, Kareem, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Kurt Rambis.  So you have on the Celtics 3 top 50 all time players and a 4^th coming off the bench in Bill Walton.  And Dennis Johnson is a hall of fame player.  The Lakers also have 3 top 50 all-time players and guys like Scott, Rambis and AC Green who were above average NBA players.

 When you compare those teams with what we are going to be watching the next week you will understand why interest in the game has declined.  The Lakers have one player who probably will be in the updated list of top 50 players, Kobe Bryant.  And besides Kobe you have no one on that team who will make the hall of fame unless their play dramatically improves.  The Celtics by my count have no players who would be in the top 50 NBA players of all time, but do have a couple of sure fire hall of famers.  So in 1986 we got to watch a series with 6 of the greatest 50 players of all time compared to 2008 where you only have 1. 

No one is to blame for this except for expansion.  The reason those teams were so much better is that they weren’t as many teams.  So teams who didn’t win as much as Boston or LA still had teams with multiple hall of famers and or multiple top 50 players such as the 76ers with Moses Malone, DR. J, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney.  That great 76ers team with 2 top 50 players only won one title.  But now you have recent expansion teams like The Grizzlies and Raptors that dilute the talent base all over the league.  So those teams have maybe one superstar on their team that if added to another superstar on another team then you could go back to those great teams again.  A perfect example of this is Pau Gasol leaving the Grizzlies where he was being wasted and added with Kobe and now you have a championship caliber team.  But if Gasol stays in Memphis and keeps winning 20-40 games a year that really doesn’t show the overall quality of him as a player.  And what’s even more depressing is we miss out on the days of quality teams with a plethora of quality players, which makes for high quality basketball.

 I will watch these finals, but will long for the Good Ol’ Days…

Decisions takes a look at a few recent organizational and coaching decisions evaluating the good and bad.

Good

• Cowboys extend Terrell Owens contract.  The NFL has non guaranteed contracts, and the Cowboys can ensure they don’t have to deal with a potential TO headache.  If he melts down, then worst they have to do is take him to court for prorated signing bonus money and move on.  They learned from the Eagles situation.
• Pistons fired coach Flip Saunders.  Since they won a title with Larry Brown in 2004, the Pistons have been both successful, but underachieving.  They’ve been to the finals, and conference finals, but have moments where they appear disinterested.  Clearly, the team is too talented and experienced for these type things to happen.  The lack of a second championship wasn’t Saunders fault, but he never had a solution.

Bad

• Yankees to start Joba Chamberlain.   Joba came up to the majors last year, as a late inning bridge to closer Mariano Rivera.  He might be a future starter, but they are rushing him to fix their own blunders.  He didn’t even start 20 games in the minors, and now they are starting him without giving him an offseason to stretch out and properly prepare for the challenge.  They made the mistake of overvaluing young starters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, hence passing on a chance to acquire Johan Santana.  If Joba fails, then they’ll have two problems, bad bullpen and possibly damaged young ego.
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Oddly enough, the Stanley Cup Finals are amongst my most memorable sporting events. Primarily because I worked for four years for the New Jersey Devils. In that time, they won two Stanley Cups and lost in game 7 of another finals.

Unfortunately for the NHL, the sport is struggling to capture the casual fan. Hockey has probably one of the strongest core sets of diehards. However, they also have the smallest set of fans who tune into games on TV. The NFL and Nascar have managed to turn every game or race into a major event. Baseball has had over 100 years of tradition carrying itself. The NBA has successfully marketed it’s players and done very well outside North America.

Hockey has tried everything over the past 10 years to garner the attention paid to other sports. Problem is, there just isn’t enough time for sports fans to watch. Hockey has easily the most exciting playoffs, as most games are close, and it isn’t unusual to see sudden death overtime. But, by the time playoffs rolls around, the NBA is also in playoff mode, and MLB has started it’s season.

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