The first name in second reads.
Stern's 'Darwinism'
NBA culture, players clutch commish by manhood
While watching Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, I realized something very important: I hate prima donnas with a passion.
The strange part is, I don't think it's entirely their fault. I partially place the blame on NBA commissioner David Stern, the man who has allowed the NBA to spiral out of control into a glorified chest-beating spectacle with an abundance of expletive-laced trash-talking with little to no consequences for unsportsmanlike acts.
Basketball is an extraordinarily physical game in the NBA, and if you watched any of Game 2, you could smell the wick burning, leading up to the fireworks about to explode.
Physical play led to jawing, which led to even more physical play, which led to Lakers guard, Derek Fisher leveling Rockets' forward Luis Scola with a pre-meditated elbow, after launching himself into the contact. Fisher was correctly given a "flagrant two" foul and ejected from the game. Absolutely no room for that type of play, ever!
Later in the game, Bryant and well-known "tough guy" Ron Artest were battling for a rebound when Bryant threw an elbow into Artest's throat. Artest was called for a foul, got in Bryant's face, and was ejected after the ruckus. All the while, Bryant continued to play the victim as he walked on water inside Staples Center.
Maybe if Stern could look past the dollar signs his superstars blind him with and take control of his sport -- much the way Roger Goodell has taken control of the NFL -- he could clean up the NBA. It's unfortunate that Stern has allowed things to get so bad, considering he seemed so forthright about cleaning things up after the Pacers/Pistons brawl of 2005.
Instead, Stern allows players like Bryant, LeBron James, Eddie House, Kevin Garnett, and other self-righteous players to treat the league like their backyard playground, where proving individual supremacy is paramount. In these short playoffs, I've witnessed two technical fouls called on players for taunting their opponent after a play, most likely using the phrase, "You can't stop me, (insert four-letter word)."
Additionally, broadcasts of these games seem to show replay after replay of players mouthing curse words back and forth to each other after seemingly every play. Which is important for these players, because they want to set a good example for younger viewers who look at these players as gods.
I have a feeling that if Goodell ran the NBA, we wouldn't be seeing Fisher, Artest, or Bryant in Game 3, maybe not in Game 4 either. But Stern is entirely too weak to take a stand and make an example out of his superstars.
Bottom line, Stern needs to find his manhood, and NBA players ought to shut their mouths, lose their egos, and play the game the way it is supposed to be played.
The strange part is, I don't think it's entirely their fault. I partially place the blame on NBA commissioner David Stern, the man who has allowed the NBA to spiral out of control into a glorified chest-beating spectacle with an abundance of expletive-laced trash-talking with little to no consequences for unsportsmanlike acts.
Basketball is an extraordinarily physical game in the NBA, and if you watched any of Game 2, you could smell the wick burning, leading up to the fireworks about to explode.
Physical play led to jawing, which led to even more physical play, which led to Lakers guard, Derek Fisher leveling Rockets' forward Luis Scola with a pre-meditated elbow, after launching himself into the contact. Fisher was correctly given a "flagrant two" foul and ejected from the game. Absolutely no room for that type of play, ever!
Later in the game, Bryant and well-known "tough guy" Ron Artest were battling for a rebound when Bryant threw an elbow into Artest's throat. Artest was called for a foul, got in Bryant's face, and was ejected after the ruckus. All the while, Bryant continued to play the victim as he walked on water inside Staples Center.
Maybe if Stern could look past the dollar signs his superstars blind him with and take control of his sport -- much the way Roger Goodell has taken control of the NFL -- he could clean up the NBA. It's unfortunate that Stern has allowed things to get so bad, considering he seemed so forthright about cleaning things up after the Pacers/Pistons brawl of 2005.
Instead, Stern allows players like Bryant, LeBron James, Eddie House, Kevin Garnett, and other self-righteous players to treat the league like their backyard playground, where proving individual supremacy is paramount. In these short playoffs, I've witnessed two technical fouls called on players for taunting their opponent after a play, most likely using the phrase, "You can't stop me, (insert four-letter word)."
Additionally, broadcasts of these games seem to show replay after replay of players mouthing curse words back and forth to each other after seemingly every play. Which is important for these players, because they want to set a good example for younger viewers who look at these players as gods.
I have a feeling that if Goodell ran the NBA, we wouldn't be seeing Fisher, Artest, or Bryant in Game 3, maybe not in Game 4 either. But Stern is entirely too weak to take a stand and make an example out of his superstars.
Bottom line, Stern needs to find his manhood, and NBA players ought to shut their mouths, lose their egos, and play the game the way it is supposed to be played.
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