The Rights and Wrongs in the Sporting World 2: The "I Loathe Miami" Edition

This is a good way to start off this post, even if I don't talk about their late-game fails

It has been a few weeks and there are many things I want to discuss so what better way to do that than to treat the world to another installment of The Rights and Wrongs? We are a few games deep into the second round of the NBA Playoffs so things are starting to get good. There are a great many things floating around my head and I don’t want to forget them so I’ll just get right to it.

The Right:
1. Chan Sung Jung – The Korean Zombie has put himself in the title hunt in the UFC’s featherweight division following a wild victory over Dustin Poirier on Fuel the other night. Zombie seemed to get winded by the time the fourth round came, but he still locked in a d’arce choke and finished Poirier off. It was a great fight with exciting stand-up and grappling, including a wild moment when Poirier took Zombie down, only for Zombie to roll right into a full mount. As far as shows on networks most people don’t get go, this was an exciting main event and Zombie has proven he can deliver an exciting fight every time. His fights against Leonard Garcia, especially the second one in which he submitted Garcia with the twister, were both entertaining and his seven second knockout of Mark Hominick was wild as well. Of course Jung wouldn’t stand much of a chance against featherweight king Jose Aldo, but really would anybody? Jung-Aldo would be an exciting fight and if you through that on the next UFC on Fox and build it up right it can be a good ratings boost and people would love it.

2. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan – Two of the greatest power forwards of all time, both in the twilight of their careers, have turned the clock back as of late. I have written about how Duncan is amazing here before, but after reading Chris Ballard’s piece on Timmy for Sports Illustrated I like him even more. The best statistic mentioned in the article is the .702 winning percentage the Spurs have had with Duncan, a percentage unmatched in the last 15 years by any other team in any sport. Even in NBA history there has not been such a run. Ballard touches on this for Duncan but it goes for Garnett as well, as both men played fewer minutes per game this season, but if you look at their per 36 minute stats their numbers are right in line with their stellar career marks. Duncan absolutely shit on Blake Griffin and the Clippers in Game 1 of their second round series, hanging 26 and 10 with 2 blocks and 2 steals on them. Garnett is averaging 20 and 11 (I may have done that math wrong) through the nine games Boston has played thus far. On the third page of that Ballard article he points out how Duncan loathes KG, but it is nice to see the rivals both stepping up their game.

3. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan – I will not be watching WWE’s Over the Limit pay per view this Sunday as it is expensive and the card doesn’t appeal to me, but Punk and Bryan are going to put on an awesome WWE Championship match. Bryan is the best technical wrestler on the face of the planet, winning Wrestling Observer’s award for that for the last seven years, and Punk is high up on the list. WWE markets everything around John Cena and he’ll have a stupid match with Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, but for the Internet Wrestling Community this WWE title match is going to be the true selling point. They’ve worked matches before, in Ring of Honor and the WWE on Raw, but to have the two best guys working a match for the biggest title in the biggest wrestling company on pay per view is what it’s all about. I will definitely be ordering a replay of the show for Bryan-Punk alone.

4. The Return of Paul E. – WWE brought back Brock Lesnar, jobbed him to John Cena, had him “break” Triple H’s arm the next night on Raw, then the next week Lesnar has his legal council announce he had quit the company. Who would be Lesnar’s legal council? None other than the greatest mind in the history of the business, Paul Heyman. Heyman was the head of the now-defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling in the ‘90s. ECW’s hardcore, edgy style was ripped off by the WWE for their “Attitude Era” and WCW mastermind Eric Bischoff hired guys like Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero away from Heyman. He wasn’t a good enough businessman to keep ECW going, but he was brilliant at booking and as an on-screen character. Jim Ross loved doing commentary with him, and as Brock Lesnar’s manager and General Manager of SmackDown he was so entertaining. His mic skills are better than most wrestler’s, and his shoot promo on Vince McMahon is one of the greatest promos in wrestling history. I haven’t watched SmackDown regularly since Heyman was its head booker in 2002-3. He made guys like Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and Chavo Guerrero into gods. I will never forget the awesome fatal four-way between Angle, Benoit, Eddie, and Edge that took place on SmackDown. Heyman always knew what matches would work, and if you gave him a microphone he could get anything over. I don’t like the idea of hiring Lesnar to be this big star then holding him off TV so they can save his 24 remaining dates for the build to WrestleMania next year, but if Heyman is going to be Brock’s mouthpiece and handle this then I’m interested.

The Wrong:
1. Dwyane Wade Part 1 – In Game 2 of the Heatles’ second round series with the Indiana Pacers, Wade committed a flagrant foul on Darren Collison. Now, in the NBA there is a Flagrant 1 and a Flagrant 2. A flagrant 1 results in a technical foul, the team of the player who was fouled getting possession, and a $35,000 fine. A flagrant 2 is all of that, but the player who committed the foul is ejected and can be suspended. Here is the rule on how to define a 1 or a 2. Wade’s foul on Collison was only a flagrant 1, despite being unnecessary and totally excessive as well as unsportsmanlike. Wade hockey checked Collison, but somehow just got slapped with a flagrant 1. A few years back, Shaq at least made a play on the ball when he killed Rodney Stuckey and was hit with a flagrant 2 and ejected. Wade was pissed because he didn’t get a call when he didn’t deserve to get a call, and then he could have really hurt Darren Collison with that shove. There wasn’t even a play on the ball, nothing of the sort. That’s a punk ass foul and you can’t tell me that’s just a flagrant 1, like Tyson Chandler’s screen on LeBron (LBJ totally flopped) in the first round. This is ridiculous. Not to mention, this isn’t the first time Wade has pulled punk stuff like this. Remember last year when he pulled Rajon Rondo down, dislocating Rondo’s elbow and crushing Boston’s title hopes? Or for some reason giving a hard foul on Kobe Bryant in the All Star game this year, resulting in a broken nose and concussion?

2. Dwyane Wade Part 2 – After losing Game 2, Wade complained in the post-game presser that Indiana was celebrating too much after the win. They weren’t, but whatever.  The Bulls were pissed Indiana celebrated after beating them during the season too so this isn't the first we've heard about the Pacers being dicks.  However, if you watched the game with Miami you would have seen the buzzer sound, a few Pacers high five each other, and David West rush everybody off the floor.  No elaborate celebration. Funny Wade complains about celebrations, since I seem to remember the Heat having a championship party before signing anybody other than the big 3. I used to love Dwyane Wade but holy crap this dude is committing punk fouls and acting like a baby. This is why people don’t like Miami. Just shut up and play. We’re just getting started.

3. LeBron James Part 1 – Guys like Derrick Rose come across as humble because they are. Guys like Kobe Bryant come across as fierce, competitive dicks because they are. A guy like LeBron James puts on an act like he is humble and it is bullshit since everybody knows it is an act. If you've watched the Heat-Pacers series you have seen the video clip I'm about to rant on. After winning his third MVP in four years, LeBron said he can’t figure out why his name is mentioned with the greats of the game like Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kareem, etc. Well I could be cheap and say it is because LeBron doesn’t have a title, but it is more fun to point out how full of crap the self-proclaimed King is. Here is a guy who markets himself as “King James” and had ESPN hold an hour-long special on where he was going to sign during free agency. He was spotted wearing a shirt that said “LBJ MVP” a few years back so clearly he believes the hype. Say it is an honor and all that, but don’t act like you can’t believe you’re being mentioned with these people when you market yourself as the biggest and greatest thing to ever walk the Earth. When Steve Nash won his second MVP somebody asked him what comes to mind when he hears the names of the other people who have won multiple MVP awards or won two in a row and Nash replied, “Who doesn’t belong?” Nash never claimed to be King, so being humble seemed pretty genuine. LeBron still comes across as the guy trying to say the right things to make people like him because he realizes The Decision was a bad idea and wants to repair his image. And that is the problem: LeBron worries about his image too much.

4. LeBron James Part 2 – On Wednesday LeBron stated that it is “taxing” to play power forward with Bosh out and that playing 40 minutes or more in a playoff game is a lot and he was hoping he can get some rest. Now maybe some won’t see this as a complaint, but I feel talking about it is complaining since you would never hear Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan hint to the media that their coach should rest them or that they feel very tired playing a different position. Even Carmelo Anthony didn’t care about playing power forward, and he’s smaller than LeBron so going against other power forwards was tougher for him. Melo wasn’t complaining about how he was playing too many minutes or how it took a toll physically. He just wanted to make sure the Knicks were playing good enough defense to win, and that’s a fact no matter how weird saying that about Melo is. Maybe it wasn’t a complaint. Maybe he was just stating the case. I still feel it is worth noting Michael Jordan played 40 minutes or more in 17 of Chicago’s 21 playoff games in 1998, and he was 35 with bad knees. He wasn’t complaining about how playing more with Pippen injured against Utah was “taxing” and hoping he could get some rest, he took it on himself to kick some ass and win no matter what. That’s the mindset of guys like Jordan, Kobe, Garnett, and Duncan. They do what the team needs for a win and they don’t ask for shortcuts and they don’t complain. KG played small forward, then power forward, and now center. Not once did he complain about how physically demanding it was to switch positions or play more minutes in the playoffs. He wanted to win so he shut up and played. Is it so hard to ask that the most naturally talented athlete to ever play the game does the same?

5. NBA Officiating – If anybody reads this correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought the NBA instituted a new rule this year that said if you pump fake and then lean into somebody and throw up a jumper as a means of getting an easy foul call the refs won’t call it. I hate that move so I was glad to hear this, but yet I saw Derrick Rose go to the line off one early in the season and I’ve seen Kobe do this all the time. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade make a living doing this as well. In Game 1 against Indiana Wade did this and went to the line in the second quarter, then Dahntay Jones of the Pacers tried the same thing towards the end of the quarter but got no call. I know the Heat are going to get a ton of calls, but with something like that can’t the refs at least be consistent? Correction: So after posting this last night I had to go look up this rule to make sure I got it right. I didn't, as the new NBA rule is for "rip-through" moves, meaning you can't swing your arms into a defender's and then throw up a shot and hope for a foul call. Good thing Brandon Roy retired otherwise he'd be screwed. But that pump fake thing should be a rule since that's as cheap as the rip-through.  Either way, they called it for Wade but not for Jones just a few minutes later. It was the exact same play. That isn't right.

6. WWE Booking – They are most likely going to put the John Cena-John Laurinaitis showdown as the main event for Over the Limit this Sunday. That is totally idiotic since 1) Sheamus is defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and Alberto Del Rio and 2) CM Punk defending the WWE title against Daniel Bryan is going to be a match of the year candidate. If Laurinaitis loses then he is fired and all outside interference is banned. This of course means Laurinaitis is going to win due to some kind of interference, most likely the incredibly lame Lord Tensai attacking John Cena backstage before the match or something. The match will be roughly 8 to 10 minutes long, Johnny Ace wins, Cena will be incapacitated somehow, and everybody except children will be mad Punk-Bryan or the four-way wasn’t the main event.

So that’s about it for now. Game 3 of the Heat-Pacers series is happening as I type this and Game 2 of the Spurs-Clippers is next so I need to get ready.

Joe's NBA 2k12 Preview Rant and Hopes

NBA 2K12 comes out in less than one week. It has already garnered a ton of press due to having three different covers featuring Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. There’s also been a lot of attention given to the game since it is going to feature nearly 30 classic teams and 15 legendary players. I’m not sure exactly how that works since if there’s almost 30 different teams there must be more than 15 legends. Since the NBA lockout has made it impossible for 2k to update rosters, the main focus of the game has been placed on the legends. This is most likely going to be a great thing and I am very excited. With what we know (or at least I know) as of right now, six days before the release, I want to give some scattered thoughts on what I think will be awesome and what is messed up.

First, the player ratings have leaked and they are fucked up. LeBron James is the highest rated player in the game at 98, including an A- in outside shooting. I don’t know why this guy keeps choking in the playoffs every year and is rewarded with great video game ratings. And to put his mid-range and three point game so high is insane. I mean, that’s saying LeBron is nearly as good of a shooter as Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk got jobbed on the ratings, falling to 85 which is behind titans of the game like Rudy Gay (86). He’s also behind Melo, Amar’e, and tied with Blake Griffin. This is Dirk here. Top 25 ever probably and he was just one of the top three players in the league this past year. Kobe somehow got rated 94 even though he didn’t play well and should only be in the high 80s. I’m also a little sad Luol Deng is only a 77 since he’s a true warrior.

Deron Williams is a 90 and Russell Westbrook is an 88. I don’t know what world these 2k developers live in where Williams and Westbrook are better than Dirk, but it must be nice there. As long as LeBron’s clutch rating is about a 49 then I won’t be that upset with all these initial ratings. Assuming there’s a season and the rosters update things will change. That’s really all I can bitch about in terms of current players, but I will praise the Mavericks for acquiring Rudy Fernandez before the lockout so he’s on their roster in the game. That is so important to me as Rudy is one of the most important men to ever live. Aside from that, I don’t care about the modern stuff as my focus is all on the legends.

The legend stuff looks awesome. If you’re the 60s Celtics with Bill Russell then the game presentation is just like it would be in the 60s, including the black and white screen. I hope this means for the older teams there won’t be a scoreboard on the bottom of the screen during the game and it will just show up sporadically throughout the quarter like it did for years. While I am excited about the at least four different classic Bulls teams the roster reveal showed, I feel that’s kind of weak to do. Out of the almost 30 legendary teams, how many are going to be the same team with slightly different players? Will there be four different Bird-era Celtics or something? If that happens and there’s no 1993 Phoenix Suns I’m going to be pissed. I’m really looking forward to there being a lot of different classic teams so you can use a lot of different legends like NBA Live 2000. That brings me to my next hope.

I really hope that with The Association—the game’s season mode for those who aren’t familiar—when you do a fantasy draft you can pick legendary players. In Live 2000, which is the second greatest NBA game behind 2k11, they had legendary all star teams broken down by era. There was the 50s/60s team, the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s all stars. You could complete ridiculous tasks and unlock the players from those teams to be placed on any team in the active roster. You could then do a season with legends on any team. I had a Bulls team with MJ, Pippen, Wilt, Bird, Dr. J, and McHale among others I can’t remember since it has been so many years. But the point is that it was awesome to take legends and have them face off against the stars of 2000.

One of 2k’s big marketing points with 2k12 is to give everybody a chance to see how all the legends would fare against the stars of today. What better way than to be able to incorporate them into the regular gameplay? Most of the time when I do an Association or Playoffs I just draft a team to make it more interesting. Well with all of these legends I want to be able to be the Bulls, give myself the number one pick, take Jordan, and then maybe take Derrick Rose in the second round and so on and so forth. They could even make the game super smart so if you do this legend incorporation it will take a player like Mike Bibby who is on the Heat now and sucks, and simply throw him out of the roster in exchange for the better Bibby that is on the 02 Kings. I want to be able to put together my dream team of classic and current stars then go bust some skulls.

We don’t know what all the classic teams are yet but from that roster reveal we see a lot of Bulls teams and the 93 Hornets. Also I pre-ordered the game from Game Stop and it says on their website I’ll get to unlock the 91 Warriors and the 02 Kings for that. The thing with these classic teams is that they’re not unlocked to start the game, you have to complete parts of a special game mode to unlock them. That is most likely going to be a lot of fun and cause me to waste a lot of time I could be using to write papers or do reading for school. Part of what makes it exciting is the fact 2k won’t reveal every team and won’t tell us every change they’ve made to the game. If they do that change with The Association I’ll shit my pants.

Apparently My Player mode has changed up so you don’t start off rated like a 37 and playing shit games that mean nothing. You start out going right into the league, or at least that’s what I think I read about it. That’s pretty cool since I always hated My Player because it took so long to get into the NBA and then you sucked when you made it. They’ve also redone the teammate grading system in the mode so you don’t drop four letter grades if you accidentally hit X to call for a pass at a bad time. From what I’ve read there’s just a ton more stuff, like being able to make commercials and what not. I still probably won’t play it but for people who like that mode hopefully this is good news. Also the Creating a Legend mode, which in 2k11 involved taking a rookie Michael Jordan and putting him on a current team and playing through his career, has returned only now you can be a player on a current team and go through the rest of their career. That’s pretty nifty.

The bottom line is this: 2k12 is going to fucking rule. This legendary team mode is going to turn everybody’s brains into shit. I am so excited for it I briefly considered taking all of next week off so I can play it, even Monday despite the game not coming out until Tuesday. I’m trying to slam through the last few games of my season in Madden so I can be ready. Once that game drops everything we know is going to change. If they don’t put a classic Seattle Supersonics team there so I can demolish people with the Reignman I’m going to be furious and may consider getting rid of the game though.