Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The NBA took a hard line approach to the Gilbert Arenas saga, which continues to get uglier each day as it continues to unfold, by suspending the former All-Star indefinitely.

In my humble opinion, this action is clearly the right call, and is actually overdue. If the NBA would have reacted more swiftly they could have avoided further damage to it’s already tarnished image. Instead, they allowed Aren-ASS to continue playing even after he admitted to bringing guns into the Wizard’s locker room. And what does Aren-ASS do? He continues to make light of a very serious situation via his Twitter account(which much like facebook and all other social networking sites is proving to be the demise of many) and had the audacity to point his index fingers as if they were guns while surrounded by his teammates in pre-game introductions in his last game against Philadelphia.

These antics most certainly drew the ire of NBA Commissioner David Stern, who ultimately handed down the suspension.

It’s poetic justice that the NBA  was seemingly punished as well for allowing Aren-ASS  to play and giving him the public forum to continue to act like the “Class Clown”. Can’t help but think of the old cliche “some people just never learn” after witnessing Aren-ASS’s cavalier attitude toward his indiscretion even after having talked to local and federal law enforcement.

The way this incident is handled by all parties involved has far reaching implications well beyond the NBA. As we witnessed with the Plaxico Burress fiasco, which lead to a two year prison stretch, athletes and everyone in society as a whole need to be held accountable for their actions. Otherwise, what kind of message are we sending to kids out there who watch these highly paid athletes and celebrities who continuously skirt the law and are allowed to walk away unscathed?

Throughout his entire career Aren-ASS has always been his own worse enemy and now he is paying a hefty price for his tomfoolery. It is going to cost Aren-ASS around $150,000 for each game he is suspended. Wouldn’t he have been better off just paying his original gambling debt in the first place? I can see it now; a league wide ban on card games during team flights.

I have a message for any other professional athletes out there who may own a firearm. GET RID OF IT NOW!

Athletes are paid quite handsomely for their talents and if needed can certainly afford to hire licensed security if they feel threatened.

In the last few years, there have been several tragedies in the sports world related to gun violence such as Steve McNair, Plaxico Burress, Richard Collier and Shawn Taylor just to name a few. In the NBA alone there were several mishaps involving illegal possession of a firearm. The list of culprits included Sebastian Telfair, Stephen Jackson, Delonte West and now Gilbert Aren-ASS for the second time has a gun related issue.

Let’s not forget former NBA standout Jayson Williams, recently in the news for a DUI, who shot and killed his limo driver while supposedly joking around showing off his shotgun, then attempted to cover up the whole incident.

What’s alarming is that most professional athletes come from disenfranchised neighborhoods where the evidence of gun violence is so prevalent. You would think they would be grateful to no  longer be subjected to that type of environment instead of trying to perpetuate the lifestyle so many can’t seem to leave behind. There is no excuse for bringing a gun to any workplace, much less an NBA locker room, where safety concerns are clearly not an issue.

If Aren-ASS lived in the real world he would be out of a job already and most likely charged with some sort of criminal conduct. Instead, his punishment was meted out by the NBA first, and he is still awaiting further possible action by law enforcement.

I’m shocked that the Washington Wizards didn’t take a stand initially, especially, since their recently deceased owner Abe Pollin was a staunch supporter of anti-gun legislation.

The simple fact is that most of these athletes that we watch and admire, are simply brazen enough to feel they are above the law and oblivious to public scrutiny. I hate to beat a dead horse by saying that this may somehow provide an impetus for people to change their behavior and learn from mistakes made by others.

Unfortunately, this will probably prove to be just another story to fuel the gossip columns until the next scandal breaks.So until then…… Stay Tuned!

Technorati Tags: Abe Pollin, David Stern, Delonte West, Gilbert Arenas, Gun Violence, Illegal Firearm, Law Enforcement, NBA, Sebastian Telfair, Shawn Taylor, Stephen Jackson, Steve McNair, Washington Wizards

After watching Vince “Cupcake” Carter hit the deck following a mild collision with  Ersan IIyasova, I immediately predicted Carter would be slow to get up, so he could milk the crowd for some attention.

It is a scene I became all to familiar with while watching him play in New Jersey for the Nets. The slightest chance of faking an injury would send Carter into full “Drama Queen” mode.

The replays of this play clearly showed there was no contact between Carter’s head and IIyasova’s shoulder, no matter how many times the Magic announcers tried to tell us otherwise.

Much to my chagrin, I was forced to listen to media outlets attributing Carter’s false bravado as the spark that helped lead the Magic to victory against the mediocre Milwaukee Bucks.

The Magic got off to a slow start, a consistent theme this season, then eventually found their shooting touch and ran the inferior Bucks out of the gym.

Once again, the Magic lacked  defensive intensity and relied on their depth and the three ball to carry them to the win. As I’ve said repeatedly, this formula will work against weaker opponents, however, it will continue to hinder the Magic against the leagues top teams. The Magic have feasted on the losing teams and benefited greatly from playing in the pathetic Eastern Conference, where two-thirds of the teams are sporting losing records.

If the Indianapolis Colts are actually right in their view that the ultimate goal should be winning a Championship. Then the Magic clearly have to make some adjustments and roster moves. Otherwise, we will be relegated to finding satisfaction in a bunch of meaningless wins and false hope.

Coach Van Gundy’s decision to replace Mickael Pietrus in the starting line-up with high energy reserve Matt Barnes could be a step in the right direction. I like Pietrus, however, he tends to settle for too many jump shots, mimicking Carter and Rashard Lewis on the offensive end.

Barnes could provide that necessary spark to help the Magic get out of the gate quicker.

Jammer Nelson continues to be MIA, and is simply not the same player he was prior to his shoulder injury. Coach Stan Van Gundy addressed the Jameer Nelson Dilemma after the Bucks game, saying ” we have to re-evaluate where we are at with Jameer”. Unfortunately, Jason Williams seems to be regressing as well since jameer’s return into the line-up. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Last year Rafer Alston helped lead the Magic into the Finals against the Lakers only to be foiled by Nelson’s selfish desire to play.

Dwight “The Coward” Howard came up small against the very talented and equally inconsistent Andrew Bogut, who baited Howard into  early foul trouble. Bogut and the rest of the Milwaukee front line did a good job limiting Howard’s effectiveness on the offensive end when he returned and even interrupted a few alley-oops intended for Howard.

In limited spot duty Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass continued to play well when given the opportunity. Which begs the question; When will Coach Van Gundy insert either of them in the  regular rotation?

Up next for the Magic are the Minnesota Timberwolves, another of the NBA’s cellar dwellers, who are proud owners of the second worst record in the association. I guess we should expect another repeat performance of the Magic taking advantage of a lesser opponent and eventually prevailing in the end.

It’s amazing, I find myself almost rooting for the Magic to lose, so just maybe the powers that be will somehow miraculously wake up and make some changes. Santa must have missed my house again, because I wanted a Point Guard and Power Forward for the Magic. Instead, I’m left with Jameer “The Steer” who continues to shoot blanks, and Rashard “Please Don’t Touch Me” Lewis who is deathly afraid of human contact.

Didn’t take long for me to break my New Years resolution to be more positive!

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bogut, Brandon Bass, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, Marcin Gortat, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis, Stan Van Gundy, Vince "Cupcake" Carter, Vince Carter

As expected, the Magic took care of the hapless New York Knicks in convincing fashion. You could get the sense early on that this was going to be a good old fashion shellacking. The Magic came out with good energy, executed well and ultimately wore down a decimated Knicks line up. Depth was a big factor again for the Magic, with Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes picking up the slack on an off night for Vince Carter. Dwight Howard was his usual self, overpowering opponents and claiming his domain inside the painted area. While Rashard Lewis continues to be extremely effective with his long range accuracy since his return from suspension.

Watching this game and others around the association tonight made me seriously contemplate the state of the NBA. Six out of the ten games on the slate for tonight’s action were blow outs, with the Atlanta Hawks leading the way with an impressive 146-115 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors. As many teams, such as the Knicks, jockey for salary cap relief for the impending free agent class of 2010, we the fans, are left to watch a lackluster product to say the least. The Eastern Conference actually has 10 of it’s 15 teams sporting sub .500 records. With the inept New Jersey Nets off to an NBA Record worst start at 0-18. Jay Z will need to become one heck of a salesman to pursuade Bron Bron to join the pitiful Nets.

As a native New Yorker, it is hard to comprehend the current state of the New York Knicks. They do not have a single player on their roster who would even warrant any legitimate basketball fan purchasing a ticket to watch them go through the motions. Instead of instituting a meaningless dress code for the players, why doesn’t David Stern demand that franchises field competitive teams? I’m shocked some slick talking New York City Attorney hasn’t sued the New York Knick organization for performing fraudulent business practices. How can you charge people a premium ticket price for the mediocre talent they carelessly assembled? While pushing hope like some low life TV evangelist, that they somehow have a legitimate shot at acquiring Lebron James. Who mind you, has yet to win anything of significance, unless you count his High School Championships. Which I’m sure 90 percent of NBA Players can claim to have won as well.

Now let’s get back to the Magic, who are playing excellent basketball and staking their claim as the top team in the East. Already collecting wins on the road in Boston and Atlanta, two out of the three other serious title contenders in the conference. I can’t stress enough, the significance of the Magic’s ability to get contributions from different players on any given night. We’ve already witnessed the likes of Jason Williams, Mickael Pietrus and reserves Anthony Johnson, Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson provide much needed contributions on nights when the Magic needed a player to step up.

As good as things have gone over the last ten games or so, there’s still a lot to improve on. I’d still like to see Vince Carter, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis play more aggressively and start to impose their dominance on opponents. Coaches are always instructing players to take what the defense gives them, however, players of their stature are game changers and need to be more assertive, especially when attacking the rim. Success in sports, such as it is in life, is due in large part to a certain mentality or mind set. And I still think the Magic lack a killer instinct that is going to be critical if they have championship aspirations.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Brandon Bass, David Stern, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Matt Barnes, NBA, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter

The Orlando Magic continued their winning ways tonight against the lowly New York Knickerbockers. Concluding an impressive road trip in which they did what a championship caliber team is suppose to do; win games against inferior opponents. Each game saw the Magic get behind early then fight back with their superior talent and depth. All this while actually playing short handed, minus All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, still out with a knee injury.

After losing a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat on Thanksgiving, the Magic showed a lot of character, going on the road and getting the job done. I have been somewhat hard on newcomer Vince “Cupcake” Carter, since his arrival in Orlando. Mainly, because, he continues to underachieve by most peoples standards for a guy with his god given ability and sheer talent. However, since his arrival in the NBA, he has yet to play with a legitimate title contender, so I’m going to take this into consideration, and give him a chance to lose some of the bad habits he’s picked up in his 12 year career with poor performing clubs.  Through all of that, he still manages to carry the brunt of the offensive load while Rashard Lewis regains his composure after being suspended for the first 10 games of the regular season.

Another bright spot continues to be the play of the inspired JJ Redick. It is becoming clearer with each game why Otis Smith held onto Redick while some including JJ himself felt he should be dealt. Not only has he found his collegiate stroke which had been missing in his first couple of seasons. Now he has improved defensively and is even showing the ability to put the ball on the floor when pushed off the 3 point line. With the off season additions of Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass, who also stepped up big in Milwaukee, the Magic have become one of the deepest teams in the NBA. This bolds well  for them when playing a grueling regular season and will prove to be the difference when it comes to seedings in the Playoffs. With the other 3 elite teams in the Eastern Conference, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta, playing inconsistent and showing transparent flaws in the early goings, the Magic continue to get stronger and are exemplifying a cohesive unit able to withstand the ups and downs of the long haul.

Not to be lost in all the praise for Vinsanity and the other the role players, is the continued resurgence of Dwight Howard as the games premier dominant center imposing his will on all comers. Howard needs to continue to assert himself more as a leader and defensive juggernaut if the Magic are going to fulfill expectations. With that being said, I sincerely believe the Magic need to add another piece to the puzzle if they have serious title aspirations. Memo to Otis Smith: Iverson is still ripe for the taking. Jason Williams is not going to hold up much longer and despite Anthony Johnson’s nice showing against the Atlanta Hawks, he is not a legitimate force on the 2nd unit. If there is any merit to the cliche there’s “Strength in Numbers”, then the Magic need to be proactive in addressing their need for a spark plug to get their motor going. This team is still not where it should be and a little A.I. could do a lot in the way of helping the Magic reach their full potential.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Anthony Johnson, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brandon Bass, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, Orlando Magic, Otis Smith, Rashard Lewis, Vince "Cupcake" Carter, Vince Carter, Vinsanity

The Orlando Magic and Diwght Howard got back on track last night with an impressive road victory against the up and coming Atlanta Hawks. More importantly, Dwight Howard finally found his offensive game and played with aggresiveness we haven’t since yet in the beginning stages of this season. Hopefully, this is indicative of what we can expect from Mr. Howard and the rest of the Magic from here on out.

It is expected for a team who reached the NBA Finals just six months ago to suffer a bit of a letdown when embarking on another long regular season. So I give the Magic a pass for some of their lethargic play early on. They’ve still managed to pick up some nice road wins in Boston, Toronto and now Atlanta. They say winning starts with defense and that has been the one consistent formula the Magic have put on display. Lead by Mickael Pietrus who has done an excellent job against some of the biggest names in the game, such as Paul Pierce, Dwayne Wade and Joe Johnson. Pietrus is also contributing on the offensive end with some very timely long distance shooting. Hopefully, he starts attcking the basket more, which will make the Magic even more dynamic offensively.

The most impressive aspect of last nights victory was the way the Magic fought their way back into the game in the second half, rather than mailing it in and blaming it on a tough back-to-back road game. Apparently, coach van Gundy challenged his team during his halftime pep talk and they definitely responded. So much for the notion he is losing his team.  With Orlando’s depth at several positions, they should be able to combat fatigue and the occasional off nights by their starters. Evident last night  with Anthony Johnson, who I owe a sincere apology to, putting up 17 points to make up for Jason Williams ineffectiveness.

Again, I can’t stress enough how important Dwight howards tenaciousness is needed to keep the Magic rolling. Every team plays off their best player and while Orlando may have other All-Star caliber players, Howard is clearly the emotional leader of the team. He set the tone in the second half and the rest of the Magic follwed suit. If this continues, the magic could be headed for anpother trip to the finals. Up next is the Milwaukee Bucks and rookie phenom Brandon Jennings. Without Jameer Nelson, this will be a tough assignement for the Magic backcourt. Can’t help but think what might have been had the Magic reached out and grabbed Allen Iverson after he cleared waivers. I guess I’ll have to settle for “White Chocolate” vs. the next “A.I.”.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Anthony Johnson, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, brandon jennings, coach Van Gundy, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, jason will, joe johnson, Mickael Pietrus, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, Orlando Magic, paul pierce, Stan Van Gundy, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter

The finals have been good on both ends this year and there has been a lot of discussion and debate over a lot of crap. I think it’s time for me to toss my opinions out there on the whole thing and I really don’t care what anyone thinks. I’ll start with the Lebron/Kobe debate.

Kobe is still better than Lebron for one reason. He is a closer.  In my opinion, there is way too much talk about sharing the ball, game ending shots and officiating in these games. The thing that still stands out to me is this. Kobe finishes games like Lebron doesn’t right now. The ball sharing argument is stupid to me because of this. When it is time to finish off a game, you’re best player needs to do it. Kobe shares the ball early in the game but in the last couple minutes, when it matters, he has it and finishes things off. Lebron doesn’t finish games this way. He is still looking to dish the ball even though he is rolling right through the lane and that is a sign of a guy who doesn’t think he can do it. He hit the big three at the end of game 2, but he should have taken charge of that game way before that. Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Kobe have all done that consistently. Win or lose, you die with your star in the NBA. There are occasions where someone else MUST take the shot because the defense takes you out, but there shouldn’t be so much doubt with a guy like Lebron.

Now I’ll talk about the Magic. They are better than I thought behind guys I didn’t think would do it. First off, Rashard Lewis is way tougher than I ever thought and it’s time for me to bow down to him and take back every negative thing I’ve said about him. He has shown some serious nads on both ends of the floor that warrant some major ass-kissing. Without Lewis this team isn’t here.

Next up is Rafer Alston. Alston has shown some cold-blooded toughness that I think most of us didn’t think he had. I went back and realized that he has done this before with Houston and understand now that I underestimated him beyond belief.

Mickael Pietrus is an animal. There may be no bigger free-agent signing when it is all said and done than this guy. He has been great on both sides of the floor in the playoffs and has now made himself invaluable to this team.

Time to dog guys out now. Dwight Howard has shown no inside offensive game and is proving to be a young guy looking to find himself. With his size you would expect him to overpower people in a Shaq-like manner, but no. With his athleticism you would expect quicker less clumsy moves in the paint, but no. He has done decent on the defensive end but has been getting into foul trouble and losing his head too much. I expected a lot more from Dwight in this series against Lebron, but haven’t gotten it.

Hedo Turkoglu has proven that it’s not necessary to bring him back. Most, including myself, have made a lot of Turk’s ability to be the man in the fourth quarter for the Magic and that he is needed to make this offense work. He has proven in the playoffs that it is Lewis and not himself that is the most vital cog in the Orlando offense. His low FG% will always be over played because of the role he plays in the offense, but his poor decisions and turnovers late can’t be overlooked in the playoffs. He is flopping and complaining too much at the end of games, taking too many poor shots and not working the middle the way he should be. Thank god Rashard Lewis can make clutch three’s at the  end of these games or the Magic wouldn’t be where they are.

The bottom line with these NBA playoffs to me is this. The Nuggets and the Magic are the two best teams left even though it’s closer than made out. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets because Kobe can finish. The Magic will beat the Cavs because Lebron can’t. The Magic match up better against the both the Cavs and the Lakers so I will predict the Magic winning the title. It won’t surprise me if the Lakers win because of the Kobe factor, but I would be shocked to see the Cavs or the Nuggets come back.

The NBA is a strange world but I do think the Magic take the trophy home. It’s not a homer thing either, I just feel them doing it.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Hedo Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Mickael Pietrus, NBA, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis

It was an odd night in the NBA last night. A couple of not so close games has some odd behavior attached to them. The Magic got handled fairly easy by the Celtics in game two, but it was Rafer Alston’s girly behavior that caught my attention.

It’s not shocking that the Celtics came out with a lot more fire and intensity last night. They finally had some time to recover from the wild Bulls series they had in round one. They also needed to take that game to avoid going to Orlando down 0-2. What surprised me was Alston. Eddie House was going off last night (he finished with 31) and it finally got to Alston. It was funny but will probably land Alston on the sideline for game 3. After Eddie House hit a three pointer (in Alston’s face) Alston decided to slap him in the head as turned to run down the court. That’s right, he “slapped” him.

He’s lucky House didn’t turn and pummel him, but even House had to laugh at the girly attack Rafer laid on him. It was so pathetic that the ref’s didn’t eject Alston and gave he and House both technical fouls on the play. Hey Rafer, if you’re gonna get mad and hit someone, at least pretend you’re a man and throw a punch.

In the Laker game there was an incident between Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest. A lot was made of this and I completely disagree with the decision of the officials to throw Ron Artest out of the game. Kobe and Artest were battling for a rebound and Kobe threw an elbow after Artest was shoving him from behind. It was just some good old fashioned physical basketball. The Ref’s threw Artest out after he got in Kobe’s face and it was stupid. He didn’t throw any punches, he just wanted to let him know that he was pissed about being elbowed in the neck.

They completely overreated to it and tossed him. After the game it was nice to see Artest having a sense of humor about it saying “doesn’t he know who he’s messing with?”. All in all it was a good night of playoff ball.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Eddie House, Houston Rockets, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Ron Artest

Dwight Howard lost the dunk contest tonight to Nate Robinson. He should have and he took part in his own loss. He didn’t lose because he was bad and he didn’t lose because Nate Robinson was so good. He lost because he decided to stand still under Robinson as he dunked over him. Nate Robinson played Lex Luthor to Dwight Howard’s superman and Dwight took part in it. I’ll throw the video up for you tomorrow, but it was fairly nice. The NBA skills competition overall tonight was terrible though. Dwight brought me back last year with his performance in the dunk contest so I decided to watch al of the competition this year. Oops, my bad. It sucked in every way and I will not watch next year’s unless there are naked women promised. If you didn’t watch any of it and decided to do something as exciting as staring at an unlit light bulb, you had more fun than I did. I’ll post a video of the dunk that Robinson won on because it was good and Dwight took part in it, but the hype surrounding the entire thing was silly. I would have rather listened to  Charles Barkley discuss his hideous betting techniques for a month than watch the couple hours of the crappy skills competition that I watched tonight. Off to my temporary Valentine’s place now, talk to ya tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: Charles Barkley, Nate Robinson, NBA, Valetine's Day

It shows the state of the athletes in the NBA when a guy like Daequan Cook wins the 3-point shootout. I didn’t expect Rashard Lewis to win, I would have been just as disappointed if he did, but I did expect the guy (Jason Kapono) with the best shot to take it. That was the ugliest thing I’ve ever watched. Hope the dunk contest is better. Dwight needs to represent!

Technorati Tags: Daequan Cook, Dwight Howard, Jason Kapono, NBA, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis