Aww, they're not really bullets. I still haven't nearly caught up with my reading. Just another installment of the zillion things I have to get off my chest. I'll be updating this post as the day rolls on, so refresh.
- According to this article, Trevor Ariza has apologized for injuring Rudy Fernandez. But none of the quotes seemed particularly apologetic. Instead, he said he was going for the ball, and hopes the league doesn't suspend him. When are players going to figure out that the way to make the league feel like you don't need to be taught a lesson is not to be contrite, but to admit all guilt (even if you didn't do it)? Who wants to suspend a guy who is heartbroken over his terrible error?
- In Boston they show a long pre-game video on the big screen which has highlight after highlight of great Celtics moments. It's the only time I've ever seen a team tell its fans that there is greatness in fistfighting: Several of the clips are from those battles with the Pistons, mostly involving Larry Bird. They even show Kevin McHale's infamous takedown of Kurt Rambis -- one of the most famously dirty plays in NBA history. And you know what? I suspect that helps the current Celtics. The secret sauce of their dominance is a full-on willingness to raise the intensity maybe a notch or two beyond decency.
- Unions make their money as a percentage of the income of their members. So it's no surprise, probably, that unions are pretty good at fighting for their members' income. But what about non-income stuff that is important? Working conditions kind of stuff ... When the current collective bargaining agreement is renegotiated, there may well be less money to go around, thanks to a bad economy. But I think the Players Association can probably do a lot of good for its members with non-cash benefits. One idea, is to settle one of the oldest issues in sports: the doctor. Through history, many team doctors (whose high-profile clients -- the team -- profit from having players on the court) have the reputation for being aggressive in sending injured players out there. And I always wonder: Why would the team employ the doctor? Would I want ESPN to pick my doctor? It sends a very strong message that the team does not trust the player to make the best decisions about his own body. Shouldn't players at least have the option to see their own doctor first? A further complication is that team medical providers profit from the exposure -- which makes for a strange arrangement. In some cases supporting medical practices are even team sponsors, of a sort. If a medical practice is in business with the team, and everyone is making money, it's a rare team executive who would question the quality of the medical care. But to the player, it could be devestating if the doctor makes mistakes.
- Favorite thing I have learned today: There was a geeky element to Dwyane Wade's most fanstastic play. When the Bulls had the ball with the game on the line, John Salmons dribbled right. Then Salmons came back to his left, smack into Wade who had left his man, anticipated where Salmons would be, and after knocking the ball free was storming to the other end for the game-winner. Wade said after the game that he knew Salmons likes to "come back." That is, indeed, the scouting report on Salmons -- if he starts right, he's likely to crossover and try to finish left. Salmons had done just that several times before in this same game. Wade had that piece of news in the computer of his brain, which gave him the key knowledge he needed to jump Salmons and make a tremendous play. And to cap off that thought, you have to read Jackie MacMullan on Dwyane Wade.
- A player who hates how that game turned out is Joakim Noah. Not only did he miss a putback that could have ended it, but he was also the defender over and around whom many of Miami's key buckets game. Not that it was his fault -- but it sucks to be that guy.
- Wilt Chamberlain watched Michael Jordan's early days and picked them apart, noticing flaws that held up to statistical analysis.
- An impressively theatrical Andrei Kirilenko flop. (Via Mad Dog Blog)
- The Nets, Clippers, Nuggets, Mavericks, and Kings rank as the NBA's least consistent teams -- the ones that get huge wins against good teams one night, and then huge losses to bad teams.
- If the Oklahoma Sooners don't win the NCAA women's title, their star, Courtney Paris, says she'll give back her scholarship money.
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