This is getting absurd.
Yesterday, we witnessed not one, but two ridiculous displays of officials abusing their authority and unjustly tossing players out of games. First you had umpire Joe West throw out pitcher Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen after West called Buehrle for a pair of balks in the first three innings of the White Sox-Indians game. Then there was Kendrick Perkins getting tossed by Eddie Rush for arguing a foul call in last night's Magic-Celtics Game 5.
Both instances were egregious. Buehrle was called for his first balk in the second inning, and Guillen came out of the dugout in his defense. After pleading his case for a minute, West simply tossed him.
"I went out to ask him why he's embarrassing Buehrle and he give me one of this," Guillen said, waving his hand dismissively. "When you're a professional and you have to respect the managers, the way we're supposed to respect the umpires, they are supposed to respect back."
So much for that. Buehrle was called for his second balk an inning later, tossed his glove, and was immediately thrown out by West.
Said Buehrle of West: "I think he's too worried about promoting his CD [West is a country music singer and songwriter with his own website] and I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little bit too much instead of worrying about the rules."
Guillen concurred with his pitcher's assessment, saying that "sometimes he thinks people pay to watch him umpire."
The Perkins incident, though, may have been even more ridiculous. After being called for a questionable foul guarding Dwight Howard, Perkins looked up at Rush in disbelief before quickly turning around and walking away.
No matter. Rush T'ed him up anyway, and Perkins, having already picked up a T as part of a double-tech earlier, was automatically ejected, dearly costing the Celtics as the Magic pulled away and won the game. And since that was Perk's seventh technical of the playoffs, it was supposed to result in an automatic one-game suspension. Fortunately, the league today rescinded the tech -- basically admitting the ref was at fault. But Rush's antics still had a major influence on Game 5 and could have serious consequences on the rest of the series -- and potentially the Finals -- if Perkins does end up getting his seventh tech and has to sit a game.
Simply put, I'm absolutely disgusted by the behavior of the officials in both of these incidents.
Officials in all sports are supposed to enforce the rules of the game, not become part of the game. But some of them clearly don't recognize this fact, and think that their position gives them the power to act in an arbitrary and whimsical manner. What makes these instances especially egregious is that both involved dubious calls -- Buehrle's "balks" were inconclusive at best, and Perkins' "foul" was also questionable. For this reason, the players had the right to vent a little. And that's exactly what both Buehrle and Perkins did -- vent a little. They didn't go crazy or do anything ridiculous. But the two officials involved were evidently on such a huge power trip that they decided, "Oh, what the hell, I can do whatever I damn well please." Because of this, we've now seen and read all about West and Rush -- for all the wrong reasons. Awesome.
Both the MLB and NBA should strictly discipline their respective officials. Until the leagues demonstrate that there will be legitimate consequences for the rash, impetuous actions of the officials they employ, this clownish type of behavior will continue unchecked.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Where is Orlando's Killer Instinct?
After watching the Orlando Magic come out flat and play a dud in their Game 1 loss to the Celtics, I immediately thought two things: 1) The Magic weren't going to roll undefeated to the Finals, and 2) They were bound to come out firing on all cylinders in Game 2.
Seemed logical, right? In all fairness to the Magic, they had had six days off since finishing their 4-game demolition of the Hawks, so perhaps it wasn't too surprising that they came out rusty and weren't at the top of their game in the Eastern Conference Finals opener. It happens.
But Game 2? That was inexcusable. Once again, the Magic looked lackluster, falling behind by as much as 11, and although they briefly went ahead by a point after another patented Celtics 4th-quarter collapse, they ultimately succumbed to Boston, 95-92.
Two underwhelming performances. Two home games lost. One sizeable deficit to make up in the series.
The officials during these first two games have been atrocious, with egregious calls and non-calls against both teams, but honestly, who hasn't come to expect this by now? They're simply terrible at what they do.
I'm not gonna talk about the refs now, though. No, what's most surprising -- and disappointing -- about this series thus far is the noticeable lack of, to borrow one of Walt Clyde Frazier's patented phrases, "fire and desire" in the Magic's play.
Where is their killer instinct?
During these past two games, Orlando has had none. The team has looked flat, disjointed, and uninspired. In Game 2, they were terrible in the clutch. Vince Carter conjured up memories of Nick Anderson circa 1995 by missing two huge free throws with Orlando trailing by three and 30 seconds left. The Magic got a needed stop on Boston's next possession, but then J.J. Reddick made a boneheaded play after he secured the rebound by dribbling to near half court and then calling a timeout with just three and a half seconds left. Had he called timeout before dribbling -- or dribbled past half court -- the Magic would've gotten to inbound the ball in front of the half court line, with plenty of time to get up a potential game-tying three. But because J.J. -- smart Duke grad that he is -- did neither of those things, Orlando was forced to inbound at about three-quarters court, behind the half court line. Jameer Nelson's desperation heave was well short.
I'm really disappointed in the Magic. I thought they were legitimate championship material this year. And while I know the series isn't over and anything can happen, the Magic really haven't done anything to suggest that they have what it takes to win this series.
Dwight Howard has been largely ineffective trying to post up against Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby Davis. Mickael Pietrus and Rashard Lewis have done nothing. Seriously, watching Game 2 last night, I completely forgot that they were on the team. And that's saying something, considering the fact that both played big roles in the team's thrashing of Atlanta. Vince and J.J. have probably been Orlando's best players in Games 1 and 2, but obviously the two of them aren't impervious to choking in the clutch.
Most of all, the Magic just seem to be missing that something to get them over the hump. They don't have the swagger of a champion. Even going back to last year's Finals against the Lakers, it just seems like when the game's on the line, the Magic players shrink from the moment. They lack leadership in the most crucial times.
A week ago, I thought that the Magic were ready to dethrone the Lakers. Sadly, it now looks like Orlando won't even get back to the Finals.
Seemed logical, right? In all fairness to the Magic, they had had six days off since finishing their 4-game demolition of the Hawks, so perhaps it wasn't too surprising that they came out rusty and weren't at the top of their game in the Eastern Conference Finals opener. It happens.
But Game 2? That was inexcusable. Once again, the Magic looked lackluster, falling behind by as much as 11, and although they briefly went ahead by a point after another patented Celtics 4th-quarter collapse, they ultimately succumbed to Boston, 95-92.
Two underwhelming performances. Two home games lost. One sizeable deficit to make up in the series.
The officials during these first two games have been atrocious, with egregious calls and non-calls against both teams, but honestly, who hasn't come to expect this by now? They're simply terrible at what they do.
I'm not gonna talk about the refs now, though. No, what's most surprising -- and disappointing -- about this series thus far is the noticeable lack of, to borrow one of Walt Clyde Frazier's patented phrases, "fire and desire" in the Magic's play.
Where is their killer instinct?
During these past two games, Orlando has had none. The team has looked flat, disjointed, and uninspired. In Game 2, they were terrible in the clutch. Vince Carter conjured up memories of Nick Anderson circa 1995 by missing two huge free throws with Orlando trailing by three and 30 seconds left. The Magic got a needed stop on Boston's next possession, but then J.J. Reddick made a boneheaded play after he secured the rebound by dribbling to near half court and then calling a timeout with just three and a half seconds left. Had he called timeout before dribbling -- or dribbled past half court -- the Magic would've gotten to inbound the ball in front of the half court line, with plenty of time to get up a potential game-tying three. But because J.J. -- smart Duke grad that he is -- did neither of those things, Orlando was forced to inbound at about three-quarters court, behind the half court line. Jameer Nelson's desperation heave was well short.
I'm really disappointed in the Magic. I thought they were legitimate championship material this year. And while I know the series isn't over and anything can happen, the Magic really haven't done anything to suggest that they have what it takes to win this series.
Dwight Howard has been largely ineffective trying to post up against Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby Davis. Mickael Pietrus and Rashard Lewis have done nothing. Seriously, watching Game 2 last night, I completely forgot that they were on the team. And that's saying something, considering the fact that both played big roles in the team's thrashing of Atlanta. Vince and J.J. have probably been Orlando's best players in Games 1 and 2, but obviously the two of them aren't impervious to choking in the clutch.
Most of all, the Magic just seem to be missing that something to get them over the hump. They don't have the swagger of a champion. Even going back to last year's Finals against the Lakers, it just seems like when the game's on the line, the Magic players shrink from the moment. They lack leadership in the most crucial times.
A week ago, I thought that the Magic were ready to dethrone the Lakers. Sadly, it now looks like Orlando won't even get back to the Finals.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
How 'Bout Them Canadiens?
Those of you who have been reading my blog know by now that I'm a big "team over individual" guy. So as a token of my appreciation for gritty team play that triumphs over phenomenal individual talent, I just want to say this: How 'bout them Canadiens???!!!
The Canadians -- affectionately refered to as "the Habs" (les Habitants) -- entered the NHL postseason as an extremely weak playoff team, at least from a statistical standpoint. During the regular season, they had just 39 wins against 43 losses (33 regular losses and 10 overtime losses). They also had a -6 GF/GA differential, meaning they gave up more goals than they scored. Simply put, the Habs inspired little confidence that they'd do anything in the postseason, especially since they were going up against superstar Alexander Ovechkin and the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the first round. The Capitals were a juggernaut, having finished the season with 54 wins against just 28 total losses, as well as a ridiculous +85 GS/GA differential. Oh yeah, and the Caps had also scored 318 goals during the season -- most in the NHL since the 1995-1996 season. Given the seemingly huge talent disparity between the two teams, a significant number of sports analysts picked the Capitals to sweep the Canadiens.
That prediction turned out to be a bad one after Montreal came into the Verizon Center and beat Washington in overtime, 3-2, in Game 1. But it was just one game, right? And sure enough, the Caps exerted their authority in the next three games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Habs were finished -- or so everyone thought. But the Canadians rallied to win the next two and force a decisive Game 7 at Washington. It was highly improbable that Montreal had even gotten to this point, and most people still thought that Ovechkin, by far more talented than anyone on the Canadiens team, would be able to carry the Caps into the next round.
Didn't happen. The Habs imposed their workmanlike style of play on the Caps and outlasted them 2-1 to stun the Presidents' Trophy winner and advance to the next round.
"I think they thought we were kind of a bump in the road," said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill. "That's hockey, that's playoffs. I think we played better as a team than they did."
There ya go -- that whole teamwork thing. It can come up huge, even when you're completely outmatched in terms of raw talent.
So with one superstar vanquished from the postseason much sooner than anyone expected, the Canadiens next turned their eyes to Sidney Crosby, the NHL's other main superstar, and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. At this point, the common refrain from the so-called experts was that the Habs had pulled off an absolute shocker in the first round, but this is where their improbable ride would come to an end. The Penguins maybe didn't have quite as much offensive firepower as the Capitals, but they had still scored 257 goals during the regular season, good for 5th in the league -- and 40 more than the Canadiens had scored. The talent disparity, the analysts said once again, would be too much for the Habs to overcome.
The Penguins twice went up by a game in the series, but each time the Canadiens fought back to tie it. After Pittsburgh won a closely contested Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, Montreal was once again on the brink of elimination. But the Habs were able to defend home ice and outlast the Pens 4-3 in Game 6, setting up another decisive Game 7 on the road.
Unlike the decisive game against the Caps, this Game 7 would have little drama, as the Canadiens stormed out to a 4-0 lead before holding back the Penguins for a 5-2 victory.
Another shocker.
"First the Capitals, now the Penguins," read the Associated Press article the following day. "The Canadiens, the worst-record team in the playoffs, keep sending home the NHL's best."
That they did. The Habs, in fact, became the first team ever to beat the Presidents' Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.
"We played Washington and we were supposed to get killed and we played these guys and we were supposed to get killed," said Habs defenseman Gill. "It's nice to be part of a team that gets things done."
Operative word: team.
So the Montreal Canadiens just took out the two biggest superstars in the NHL. Are you kidding me??? That would be like a team like the Milwaukee Bucks taking out Kobe and LeBron in successive rounds. Unbelievable.
Next up for these monumental overachievers is the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Habs will take on the 7th-seeded Philadelphia Flyers for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Finals (a 7th-seed vs. an 8th-seed in the conference final...as a huge fan of upsets, I'm lovin' it).
Whatever happens from here on out, this year's NHL playoffs have shown that the most talented team doesn't always come out on top. Heart and determination and teamwork count for a lot, and can neutralize an opposing team's advantage in overall talent.
Watch out, Kobe.
The Canadians -- affectionately refered to as "the Habs" (les Habitants) -- entered the NHL postseason as an extremely weak playoff team, at least from a statistical standpoint. During the regular season, they had just 39 wins against 43 losses (33 regular losses and 10 overtime losses). They also had a -6 GF/GA differential, meaning they gave up more goals than they scored. Simply put, the Habs inspired little confidence that they'd do anything in the postseason, especially since they were going up against superstar Alexander Ovechkin and the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the first round. The Capitals were a juggernaut, having finished the season with 54 wins against just 28 total losses, as well as a ridiculous +85 GS/GA differential. Oh yeah, and the Caps had also scored 318 goals during the season -- most in the NHL since the 1995-1996 season. Given the seemingly huge talent disparity between the two teams, a significant number of sports analysts picked the Capitals to sweep the Canadiens.
That prediction turned out to be a bad one after Montreal came into the Verizon Center and beat Washington in overtime, 3-2, in Game 1. But it was just one game, right? And sure enough, the Caps exerted their authority in the next three games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Habs were finished -- or so everyone thought. But the Canadians rallied to win the next two and force a decisive Game 7 at Washington. It was highly improbable that Montreal had even gotten to this point, and most people still thought that Ovechkin, by far more talented than anyone on the Canadiens team, would be able to carry the Caps into the next round.
Didn't happen. The Habs imposed their workmanlike style of play on the Caps and outlasted them 2-1 to stun the Presidents' Trophy winner and advance to the next round.
"I think they thought we were kind of a bump in the road," said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill. "That's hockey, that's playoffs. I think we played better as a team than they did."
There ya go -- that whole teamwork thing. It can come up huge, even when you're completely outmatched in terms of raw talent.
So with one superstar vanquished from the postseason much sooner than anyone expected, the Canadiens next turned their eyes to Sidney Crosby, the NHL's other main superstar, and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. At this point, the common refrain from the so-called experts was that the Habs had pulled off an absolute shocker in the first round, but this is where their improbable ride would come to an end. The Penguins maybe didn't have quite as much offensive firepower as the Capitals, but they had still scored 257 goals during the regular season, good for 5th in the league -- and 40 more than the Canadiens had scored. The talent disparity, the analysts said once again, would be too much for the Habs to overcome.
The Penguins twice went up by a game in the series, but each time the Canadiens fought back to tie it. After Pittsburgh won a closely contested Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, Montreal was once again on the brink of elimination. But the Habs were able to defend home ice and outlast the Pens 4-3 in Game 6, setting up another decisive Game 7 on the road.
Unlike the decisive game against the Caps, this Game 7 would have little drama, as the Canadiens stormed out to a 4-0 lead before holding back the Penguins for a 5-2 victory.
Another shocker.
"First the Capitals, now the Penguins," read the Associated Press article the following day. "The Canadiens, the worst-record team in the playoffs, keep sending home the NHL's best."
That they did. The Habs, in fact, became the first team ever to beat the Presidents' Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.
"We played Washington and we were supposed to get killed and we played these guys and we were supposed to get killed," said Habs defenseman Gill. "It's nice to be part of a team that gets things done."
Operative word: team.
So the Montreal Canadiens just took out the two biggest superstars in the NHL. Are you kidding me??? That would be like a team like the Milwaukee Bucks taking out Kobe and LeBron in successive rounds. Unbelievable.
Next up for these monumental overachievers is the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Habs will take on the 7th-seeded Philadelphia Flyers for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Finals (a 7th-seed vs. an 8th-seed in the conference final...as a huge fan of upsets, I'm lovin' it).
Whatever happens from here on out, this year's NHL playoffs have shown that the most talented team doesn't always come out on top. Heart and determination and teamwork count for a lot, and can neutralize an opposing team's advantage in overall talent.
Watch out, Kobe.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
New York Liberty Open 2010 Season with a Bang
The following blog post is dedicated to Elissa, who gave me the encouragement and support -- not to mention, background research -- necessary to forge ahead, despite my apprehension, and write about a subject of which I previously knew very little. Thanks, Liss, for helping me achieve my full potential as a sportswriter. I couldn't have done it without you.
***********
***********
Many people probably think of the WNBA as the NBA's unpopular kid sister. After all, the WNBA has only 12 teams to the NBA's 30, and only 34 regular season games to the NBA's 82. The WNBA has one fewer playoff round than its obnoxious older brother. The women play their first two rounds as best-of-three series, culminating in a best-of-five Finals; the men play all best-of-seven series. The NBA spans a total of nine months, from October to June, while the WNBA is relegated to four summer months, when most people are out at the ballpark taking in a baseball game or on the beach getting their tans. Let's face it -- there's a gross inequity in the two leagues in terms of money and overall popularity.
But if you were to dismiss the WNBA as a league not worth taking seriously...well, you'd be doing yourself an injustice. Women can generate the same excitement as the men when it comes to playing the game of basketball. Take the New York Liberty's second pre-season game this past Tuesday, for example, which started at a bright and early 10:30 AM. Aided by the team's fifth annual Kids Day, a sold-out, boisterous Madison Square Garden crowd of over 19,000 watched the Liberty outlast the Connecticut Sun 89-85...in triple overtime.
I don't care who you're watching, a triple-overtime basketball game of any kind is bound to be an entertaining experience. But this game had not only the length, but an abundance of star power and some intriguing storylines to go along with it. Tina Charles, the first overall pick in this year's WNBA draft -- and who also happened to lead UConn to back-to-back titles and undefeated seasons (no big deal) -- finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and figures to have a long and dominant career in the league. Meanwhile, on New York's side, Cappie Pondexter, a former Rutgers phenom and three-time WNBA All-Star who was traded from the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason, made her Liberty debut after sitting out the team's opener. If her performance in Tuesday's game is a harbinger of things to come, let's just say that the Liberty faithful should start getting excited -- Pondexter finished with 14 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists, just two shy of a triple-double. She also made an absolutely huge play with 22.8 seconds left in the second overtime and the Liberty down two when she blocked a layup by Kara Lawson that would've given Connecticut a commanding (given the circumstances) four-point lead. She then followed up that play with a key assist to teammate Essence Carson, who hit a layup to tie the score and send the game into a third overtime, which proved to be the decisive period.
Pondexter, the 2nd-overall pick in the 2006 draft, is obviously a versatile player, but she also showed she has a winning attitude to go along with her game. "I've never seen, experienced or heard of any preseason game that long," Pondexter said of the marathon victory over the Sun. "It was awesome, good to see the kids out there enjoying themselves. Good thing we put on a good show for them."
Yo, Joe Johnson: remember when you essentially said you didn't give a shit what the fans think after one of your atrocious playoff games against the Magic? Take a lesson from this woman on how to conduct yourself as a professional.
Back to the Liberty...the win was truly a team effort. In addition to Pondexter's heroics, they also got great performances from former UConn star Kalana Greene, who put up 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Janel McCarville (13 points, 10 rebounds), and new Liberty center Taj McWilliams-Franklin (9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocked shots).
Mechelle Voepel, an analyst for ESPN, picks the Liberty to finish second in the Eastern Conference...behind, yes, the Connecticut Sun that they just outlasted in triple-overtime. Do I see a little tri-state-area rivalry brewing here?
Hopefully, the two teams will meet again in the playoffs. And if you're in the NYC area at all this summer, I'd recommend hitting up a Liberty game at the World's Most Famous Arena...
Because it sure beats watching the Knicks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
