Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:28 am
I think I'm probably something of an odd man out here (I stand 6-4 1/2" with 38" arms and am possessed of a reasonable level of basketball talent), at least in the sense that I've played the game decently over the years (although just "pickup") and have been matched up against several of those who were, back then "future NBA pros" in years past (and a couple ex NFL starting super bowl defensive players also)...but...?
So what?
The fact is, I ALSO don't care if they cancel the whole thing, or simply dissolve that whole da**ed league. Haven't cared about or followed the NBA for years now.
For me it all ended with one of those players strikes...and I can't even tell you what year exactly (late 80's?), except that I know Patrick Ewing was still playing for the NY Knicks. At some point during the verbal back-and-forth then I heard this from one of those 100+ million dollar strikers (and I can't remember who): "It's not about money--it's about respect. They (the owners) don't respect us."
"Really," I thought? Somehow the 100+ million that clown was being paid was screaming pretty loudly otherwise, but it was clear the overpaid moron still just wasn't getting it. And something finally went <click>...and I gladly stopped paying attention to most of those overpaid prima-donnas...and most of Hollywood too...both in the same instant.
Yes, for me THAT was the last straw. I said to myself: "F**k 'em, all those fools" and have had a life much the better for it ever since.
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This isn't to say that there aren't sports and athletes who are worth following--there are many of them. Still many, even today. But you must "pick-and-choose" carefully too. Just because a given so-and-so is part of a "league" or even a "medium" doesn't make him...or even her (no matter how good looking she is) worth wasting any of your own precious time. And it IS precious--it's YOURS. So don't spend it or give it away cheaply.
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The man we lost just this last weekend (2-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon (33), killed at a race in Las Vegas) was probably one of those worth following--he kept it all in perspective I think. He knew he was fortunate (and not simply "entitled")...and moreover, he seemed to be a man who seemed to truly VALUE his wife and family. In the world of sports and entertainment, that's all too rare, IMO.
He was the kind of sportsman I could admire (and he is--and now was--one who I will miss).
In contrast to that? If the NBA resumes sometime later this year? I won't be able to tell you who their eventual champion is even the day after they win it all.
Like most of you I, also, won't care.
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Today: I wouldn't go to a NBA game seven final these days if you gave me a limo, 20 tickets and box seats. Or front row seats. I'd rather watch paint dry...or maybe--if was REALLY, REALLY bored--I could turn on cable...and watch all their tattoes dry.
Or, on second thought? Nah!