An Eventful Day

Wow. There is so much to say about today, I really don't know where to start. First of all, I'll keep things short on the passing of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. They were spectacular entertainers, and one's who will be sorely missed. Farrah's battle with cancer was well documented and hopefully she is now in a better place. The death of "The King of Pop" is too very sad as his music helped to transform American pop music. Disappointingly, the media has turned his death into a second coming of a P.T. Barnum circus; I know fans around the world are mourning his death, but the coverage is exhaustive, tiring, repetitive, and unnecessary. I channel surfed past Nancy Grace (who gives Glenn Beck a serious run for his money as the most despicable newscaster on TV) on CNN tonight as she discussed Jackson's death. It has already been well documented he died of a heart attack, and even though the on-site reporter repeated that several times, she continued to ask questions about foul play with drugs and alcohol. That kind of reporting is downright disgusting, trying to capitalize on one man's death for better TV ratings. In any case, the media coverage is outlandishly extensive and little more needs to be said about Michael Jackson's death; his spirit will live on forever through his music.


Moving on, it was a big day for the NBA with big trades and a big draft. The day started with Shaquille O'Neal aka The Shaq Daddy aka the Shaqtus aka the Big Aristotle being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shaq and Lebron James on the same team will incite fear in locker rooms across the NBA. No doubt in my mind Shaq will win his fifth NBA championship in Cleveland. He just seems to be a perfect compliment to superstar players: Kobe in LA, Dwayne Wade in Miami, and now LBJ. And I know Kobe was criticized for not winning championships without Shaq until this year, but it will be different for Lebron now. Shaq is past his prime. He's not a role player, but he's not the superstar either, so it won't reflect negatively on Lebron when (not if) they win a championship. Funny I'm saying this with the Orlando Magic trading for Vince Carter today from the NJ Nets. The Magic will be a tough match again...Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson and possibly Hedo Turkoglu. That is a thorough, complete, and dominant starting 5. Maybe the best in the league. The Finals just ended 2 weeks ago and I'm already intrigued for 2009-2010.


As if that wasn't enough for the NBA, the draft was a big success today. The NBA puts on a respectable and commendable draft in Madison Square Garden. Even though I loathe David Stern, he does a great job with the draft. Combine that with solid ESPN coverage and the draft is really a success. Five minute rounds in a orderly, organized, and classy manner is the perfect set up compared to the helter-skelter, over-hyped, and 2-day event that is the NFL draft. And watching Jeff van Gundy, Jay Bilas, and Stuart Scott beats Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen, and Mel Kiper Jr. any day of the week. And congrats to Israeli guard Omri Casspi for being the first Israeli player drafted to the NBA. Unfortunately that's all I know about him, which is considerably more than NBA "analyst" and moron Fran Frischilla, who could only muster up "I hope they have good falafel in Sacramento!" followed by forced laughter and awkward silence. But yeah, congrats to the NBA for a job well done on a big day.


And for those interested, Astana announced their roster for the 2009 Tour de France, and as expected Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Andreas Kloden, and Levi Leipheimer all made the team, and all have a chance to win the tour. In his bio, Contador was listed as the team leader, but I have my doubts. Ill leave it there for now, it's been a long day.

A Finals Reflection

First of all, I must thank the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls for breathing life into the NBA again. The superstardom that came out of the 2009 NBA playoffs may have been unlike any other; Derrick Rose and Andre Iguodala's break out series, Ron Artest's resurgence, along with the outstanding play of the NBA elite, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwayne Wade. Every night of the last 7 weeks was an absolute spectacle of incredible basketball; there always stood a chance for records to fall and for legends to be born. So again, congratulations to those teams for an outstanding postseason and to the NBA for a successful season.

But the biggest praise is of course reserved for the NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson in particular. While Kobe's stardom was never in doubt, as he and Lebron James are the face of the NBA around the world, his place in NBA history was certainly in question. Winning 3 NBA Championships is no easy feat, but with Shaquille O'Neal as the leading and dominating force of the LA Lakers dynasty in the early 2000's (someone needs to find a catchy name for this decade...I mean, it's been 9 years and still nothing?), Kobe received little credit for his successes. After his falling out with O'Neal (resulting in Shaq's trade to Miami and his subsequent tour of the NBA. Cleveland next?) and Jackson (resulting in the hiring of Rudy Tomjanovich and subsequent re-hiring of Jackson), the Lakers were mired in mediocrity--see Kwame Brown, Vladamir Radmanovich, and a whole slew of other subpar talent--leaving Kobe's full potential untapped and his greatness in doubt. His resurgence as 2008 MVP and now 2009 NBA Finals MVP have answered all of his critics; Kobe overcame sexual assault allegations, rebuilt the Lakers from scratch, re-established them as the premiere basketball team in the NBA, and solidified his place among the Top 10 basketball players of all time with MJ, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J, Jerry West, and now Kobe. After all, with 4 NBA titles, 11 All-Star selections including 3 All-Star Game MVPs, 9 time All-Defensive Player, 2 Scoring Titles, and the 2008 MVP and 2009 Finals MVP, he is truly one of the greatest of all time. Oh, and he has an Olympic gold medal too. And he's only 30 years old. (And yes, I went to the same high school as Kobe. I'm not a homer. The numbers are just undeniable, for all you Kobe haters out there.)


Phil Jackson is a more interesting case. He's won ten NBA titles, one more than the late great Red Auerbach, and now the most of all time. But is he the greatest coach of all time? Kobe silences his critics by winning without the likes of Shaq, but Jackson has always had superstars, be it Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen or Kobe and Shaq. Jackson and the Bulls won 3 consecutive titles in the early 90s, but when MJ retired in 1993, the Bulls stopped winning titles. Cue the comeback for Jordan and the resurgence of the Bulls, again three-peating from '96-'98. Jackson followed by coaching his third three-peat, from 2000-2002 with Bryant and O'Neal. Were the Bulls' and Lakers' dynasties a result of great coaching or true superstar play? The same can be said for Auerbach of course. Red's Celtics won 9 championships in 10 years, including 8 in a row! That puts any three-peat to shame, considering Red did it by defeating the Lakers, with the likes of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, in the finals 6 years in a row. To be fair, the Celtics starred Bill Russell (an 11 time champion for whom the NBA Finals MVP Trophy is named), K.C. Jones, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, and Tom Heinsohn--all Hall of Famers. But what was so impressive was that Red Auerbach built his dynasty from scratch. He drafted Russell, Heinsohn, and Jones and made them into the HoF players they became (and even into coaches, as they won 6 more championships as coaches for the Celtics). He went on to GM the Celtics for 17 years, solidifying them as the best franchise in the NBA with the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, all of whom he drafted and again turned into legendary players. So who is the best coach of all time, Jackson or Auerbach? It's tough to say, and until Jackson retires and makes his final impression on NBA history, there may never be a clear answer. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com makes an intriguing case for Jackson (his article can be found here), highlighting his non-championship years (45 wins with the same roster minus Caron Butler as Rudy Tomjanovich the previous year), his trademark Triangle offense, Zen Buddhist philosophies and Sioux rituals. He successfully managed Jordan, Pippen, and Dennis Rodman--yes, that Dennis Rodman--and Kobe and Shaq (though his tiffs with Bryant are well documented). Thus he is a proven player manager and strategist, and his leadership is impeccable. Still, I can't overlook that Jordan and Kobe seemingly fell into his lap (MJ averaged 35 ppg even before Jackson took over the Bulls). Auerbach was the complete coach; he embodied the Celtics. He drafted, coached, and mentored Russell, Jones, and Heinsohn. Then he went after Hall of Famers Bird, Bob Cousy, McHale, Parish, Nate Archibald and Danny Ainge, among many others. He single-handedly overtook the Lakers as the best franchise in the NBA. He won 8...8 consecutive championships! Even though Jackson may have surpassed him as the coach with the most NBA titles, Red Auerbach smoking his victory cigar still represents the best of the best in NBA coaching. Jackson is a close 2nd, and with just one more championship, 11 would be a number too hard to ignore, he will inherit the throne and wear the crown of best coach of all time.