Jay-Z and LeBron

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote an intriguing article discussing the relationship between Jay-Z and LeBron. As I was reading it, the first thing that came to mind was the NBA rule against collusion and tampering, e.g. Owners and GMs can't talk publicly about their interest in players under contract with other teams. Apparently, even when Jay-Z, part owner of the Nets, spoke publicly about LeBron potentially coming the the Nets, the league didn't punish him. The second thing that came to mind was how fascinating and how statistically unlikely it is that a guy who grew up in the housing projects of Akron and a guy who grew up in the housing projects of Brooklyn could one day be collaborators with both operating huge media conglomerates. The third thing I thought about was how cool it was that two guys who "made it" through the conduit of entertainment (read: playing sports and rapping) have translated their on court and on mike skills into successful business ventures. So many young people see playing ball or rappin' as their only way out of their 'hood. It is nice to see that 2 guys who are amongst the few who "make it" from their communities aren't content with the currency of fame and notoriety with somebody else receiving the bulk of the profits from their abilities. They both seem to understand how to exploit capitalism instead of being exploited by capitalism.

Politics ain't the only thing that makes strange bedfellows

I find it quite amusing that Bob Knight, one of the most polarizing coaches in the sports media landscape, is now going to do a stint with the worldwide leader. I vividly remember the interview of Bob Knight by Jeremy Schaap where he punked Jeremey by saying he had a long way to go before he could measure up to his dad (the late, great Dick Schaap). I also have read articles from others in the ESPN family that have provided stinging analysis of Knight's character. And now is all forgiven? What happens when Bob Knight bumps into Pat Forde at the snack machine (hopefully the .com people office in the same building as the on-air talent)? I would love to see how some of the ESPN talent interact with Knight when he's up in Bristol. Do they stay away from him? Or do they glad hand and suck up to him? I guess there are at least two lessons here: 1)It's easy to critique someone from a distance, but do so with the understanding of one day that distance might shrink considerably and 2) politics ain't the only thing that makes strange bedfellows. Money is such a powerful motivator...capitalism - ya gotta love it!

All athletes are not selfish

Saying that all athletes are selfish is an uninformed reductionist statement, but it seems to be an opinion that is levied when an athlete does something that seems to shine more light on himself than the team. I hate to hear athletes, especially football and basketball players characterized with such broad brush strokes. T.J. Ford is a great example of a athlete who is putting team first. Of course he won't be the lead on SportsCenter this evening because of this, but let him get caught on the wrong side of the law or demand that the coach start him or trade him and T.J. will become a household name.

Now, it does help that T.J. has a guaranteed contract and that there is no denying that Calderon is a legit point guard, but that shouldn't take away from the magnanimity of the gesture.

Something not often seen in the media today

I was really impressed when I read Steve Weinman's apology to Rasheed Wallace. The Detroit Pistons are my team in the NBA and I have appreciated what Rasheed had done on the plus side: helping us get the ring against the Lakers in '03, making those championship wrestling belts, the cool "get hype" dance he does at the beginning of games, even the pre-Pistons "both teams played hard" quote. However, I do hold two things against him: leaving fellow Crimson Tider, Robert Horry open for that game winning three in the Finals vs. the Spurs, and the meltdown in game 6 against the Cavs, especially when Anderson Varejao stuffed his supposedly unblockable baseline turnaround jump shot. That being said, the boy 'Sheed has been hoopin' this season and KILLED the Suns this past Sunday. If many members of the media would just watch the games and not carry personal biases against athletes, then I think we could get more balanced reporting on complex cats like Rasheed Wallace. So big ups to you Mr. Steve Weinman you have earned my respect (as if that means anything to you).