MIKE http://www.theemike.com thee ultimate talking head on sports! Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:46:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 MLB’s Manny (Ramirez) Being Manny (Ramirez)…But Now with Oakland A’s http://www.theemike.com/mlbs-manny-ramirez-being-manny-ramirez-but-now-with-oakland-as/ http://www.theemike.com/mlbs-manny-ramirez-being-manny-ramirez-but-now-with-oakland-as/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:46:34 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=1005 Me, myself and I have always been the only three people on the planet [...]]]>

Me, myself and I have always been the only three people on the planet that newly signed Oakland A’s Manny Ramirez has ever cared about.

And, baseball fans, not only in Oakland, but also around the country, should be dreading what this dastardly designated hitter will do next in his unexpected return to Major League Baseball.
Yesterday, the oft-maligned, mercurial Manny made many murmur when the Dominican born slugger inked a $500,000 per year minor league contract with the Oakland A’s, his sixth and hopefully last major league team.

The recalcitrant Ramirez’s return to MLB was met with the same mix of cynicism and guarded optimism reserved for what a Terrell Owens NFL signing or an Allen Iverson NBA signing would yield. 

The controversy, unprofessionalism and intrigue that have followed the petulant Ramirez during stints with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and most recently with the Tampa Bay Rays are certain to surface again in Oakland with the A’s.

How Ramirez’s LA Dodgers Manny-wood antics with all their distractions will return is not necessarily guaranteed, but is widely expected by everyone who has ever watched this terrifically talented hitter tear the cover off a 90 mile-per-hour fastball.

Manny will be Manny with no regard for what he leaves on the base paths behind him.

Expect this malcontent, once again, to march off the field, knock over a water cooler, shove a locker room attendant, ignore the press and then kick the cat when he gets home.

Because that’s Manny being Manny without any concern for anyone or anything except himself. There’s no you or we or us in Ramirez’s company of friends, but merely me, myself and I,  which beckons me to ask…

Why don’t paying fans use their collective clout and send a signal to MLB management that Ramirez’s boorish behavior has grown tiresome?
Why should we once again tolerate the nonsense from this 12 time All Star?

Why haven’t his previous teammates collectively kicked Ramirez in the keister?

Why haven’t A’s faithful slowed down Northern California servers with tweets, blog posts and nasty emails decrying the signing of this dreadlocked lout?

Why did A’s management soften its style and succumb to the silly theory that the soon to be 40 year-old Manny will actually help a team that finished 3rd in last year’s AL West with a 74-88 record?
How unconscionable for Major League Baseball to allow Ramirez back on the field again after violating the league’s drug policy for a second time.

Without doubt, the Ramirez signing will dominate sports news today. And, speculation will continue and questions will linger about how Ramirez will acclimate in Oakland before his anticipated return versus the Kansas City Royals on June 2.

However, when you only think in terms of me, myself and I, and your whopping $205 Million in career earnings has been safely secured in the bank, it’s easy to understand why….. Manny will be Manny again…just this time with the A’s.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

]]> http://www.theemike.com/mlbs-manny-ramirez-being-manny-ramirez-but-now-with-oakland-as/feed/ 0 New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin’s Play Overshadows Broadway http://www.theemike.com/new-york-knicks-jeremy-lins-play-overshadows-broadway/ http://www.theemike.com/new-york-knicks-jeremy-lins-play-overshadows-broadway/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:17:25 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=1003 Just steps away from Broadway on New York City’s biggest stage this weekend NBA’s [...]]]>

Just steps away from Broadway on New York City’s biggest stage this weekend NBA’s Jeremy Lin was once again the SHOW!

Captivating a sold out Madison Square Garden as well as a fixated network television audience, Jeremy Lin’s scintillating play on the basketball court is worthy of another Broadway type encore performance.

Lin directed a resurgent New York Knicks squad past the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks before an electric crowd of basketball loving New Yorkers while mesmerizing entertainment stars as well as sports celebrities alike in attendance.

The initial explosion of Linsanity has now yielded to a more sane, but genuine, level of respect and admiration for Lin’s improbable overnight ascendance as the NBA’s least expected, but universally popular, new star. In spite of all the hoopla surrounding the point guard’s basketball background and cultural heritage, Jeremy Lin has quickly proven that he belongs on the NBA hardwood with the ball in his hand and an adoring public at his humble feet.

In a star studded Madison Square Garden and ABC / ESPN broadcast booth, Lin’s star shone the brightest. Beloved NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson cooed generously about the overall excellence of Lin’s game.

Spike Lee, sporting a throw back Jeremy Lin #4 Harvard jersey and garish Elmer Fudd hunting hat, led innumerable cheers for the Big Apple’s newest and now biggest star.

Facebook’s Jeffrey Zuckerberg, spotted smiling behind the Knicks’ bench, witnessed firsthand why Lin’s lore has recently dominated his social network and other social media sites.

And, big screen stars like Kevin Costner and Eva Longoria rose regularly from their courtside seats to cheer Lin’s big shots as well as mastery of the screen and roll with his New York teammates. Lin scored 28 points and dished out 14 assists in another performance that dwarfed everything the nearby Broadway stages had to offer.

Don’t expect the curtain to fall anytime soon on what Jeremy Lin has accomplished in such a short period of time.

George Benson may have crooned that “the neon lights are bright on Broadway. ” However, he could never have imagined just how brightly Jeremy Lin’s light could shine just a few blocks south at Madison Square Garden as well as on every television, computer and mobile device around the globe.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

]]> http://www.theemike.com/new-york-knicks-jeremy-lins-play-overshadows-broadway/feed/ 0 Miami Heat’s Lebron James Mulls Return To Cleveland Cavaliers? http://www.theemike.com/miami-heats-lebron-james-mulls-return-to-cleveland-cavaliers/ http://www.theemike.com/miami-heats-lebron-james-mulls-return-to-cleveland-cavaliers/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:56:43 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=999 Has the “king without a ring” really become this delusional?

Does the capricious number six from South Beach actually [...]]]>

Has the “king without a ring” really become this delusional?

Does the capricious number six from South Beach actually think basketball fans, especially those in Cleveland, believe his recent revelation?

Has the coveted NBA championship crown he imagines perched atop his 6’8″ frame pressed so forcefully against his brain matter that it’s now causing the two time NBA MVP to utter such ridiculous nonsense?

Lebron James’ speculation about returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers after his contract expires with the Miami Heat seems as believable as Kobe Bryant pledging never to stray again in a future relationship or Allen Iverson claiming he lost most of his NBA fortune to unwise philanthropic endeavors.  

Call this another Lebron James public relations train wreck or another disengenous disaster - certain to sully basketball fans again against this wildly talented basketball player. Lebron needs to learn how to guard his tongue a lot better than defending any opponent he’ll ever check on the hardwood.

James’ calculated comments concerning his potential return to Cleveland appear as transparent as the nylon nets dangling from the basketball rims in the Quicker Loans Arena where he’ll lace up against his former team tonight. Lebron’s premeditated prognostication is pure poppycock!

It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to read right through this “would be king’s” flimsy fabrication that he would ever consider a return to the Cavs. James offered this specious speculation in anticipation of the raucous “welcome” the perennial all-star is expected to receive tonight from the fans and city he ceremoniously spurned two summers ago.

Does Lebron actually think the fans in Cleveland would buy into the hallow hope of his shallow words? Or, are James’ words part of a premeditated strike to mitigate the avalanche of criticism he’s certain to receive this evening? Well, these answers are about as obvious as the unparalleled basketball ability number six possesses.   

I’m sure that embittered Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert will agree too and should respond to Lebron James’ comments…..as soon as he can stop laughing.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – aka Mike raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

]]> http://www.theemike.com/miami-heats-lebron-james-mulls-return-to-cleveland-cavaliers/feed/ 0 NBA Linsanity’s Ridiculous Turn to Racial Hyper-sensitivity http://www.theemike.com/nbas-linsanity-ridiculously-turns-into-racial-hyper-sensitivity/ http://www.theemike.com/nbas-linsanity-ridiculously-turns-into-racial-hyper-sensitivity/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:31:58 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=996 The NBA Linsanity surrounding the New York Knicks’ point guard Jeremy Lin has ridiculously [...]]]>

The NBA Linsanity surrounding the New York Knicks’ point guard Jeremy Lin has
ridiculously turned into racial hyper-sensitivity.

Yesterday, the Linsanity meter reached another high although it had nothing
to do with Jeremy Lin’s performance on the basketball court.

With Linsanity permeating every segment of society, it was only a matter of
time that someone somewhere would be offended by all of Lin’s media focus and
decry the creative, clever or at times cheesy expressions acknowledging this NBA
season’s top story.

And, with Lansanity appealing to sports loving fundamentalists, atheists,
elitists, leftists, anarchists and even Boston Celtics alike, it was expected
that some silly offense would be taken, an outcry staged and blogs like mine
would be written to challenge those wielding overly eager trigger fingers of
racial and cultural hyper-sensitivity.

During last night’s game in New York, MSG innocently posted an image of
Jeremy Lin’s smiling face emerging from a fortune cookie with the accompanying
thin white paper reading,”The Knicks Good Fortune.” Yes, that’s all it took for
cries of racism to echo throughout New York City and in every media outlet on
the planet.

Although most sports fans who saw the gimmicky photo laughed it off as a
clumsy attempt at humor, a few easily agitated dissidents immediately
over-reacted and vehemently voiced their disdain for MSG’s “racist portrayal of
a Chinese American.”

MSG, an acronym for Madison Square Garden and not, ironically for the Chinese
food additive mono sodium glutamate, naively attempted to celebrate Lin’s
heritage and the good, no great fortune, this Harvard educated rookie has
brought to the Knicks team during the it’s current seven game winning
streak.

No malice was intended. No racial spite was inferred. And no racial offense
should have ever been taken.

What’s crazy, or Linsane, is that some hyper-sensitive, acutely over-reactive
ninny would make issue over MSG’s amateurish attempt to recognize Lin’s meteoric
rise and universal popularity across all sports, all races, all socio-economic
groups and any guys named Tom, Dick and Harry as well as Jose, Mohammed and
Wang.

By claiming that a picture of Jeremy Lin in a fortune cookie is racist, then
so would saying that during the last seven games #17 has been hotter than extra
spicey general Tsoa’s chicken or that his draining a dagger three pointer with 1
second left to beat the Raptors in Toronto earlier this week is because he’s got
rice-water in his veins. Come on, man!

So, allow me to get right Lin your face. Let’s continue to celebrate each
other’s cultural differences without ever disparaging them.

Let’s continue finding levity in what makes us unique without any malintent.

Now that the NFL season is over and sports fans have stopped Tebowing, let
them all start Linning and enjoy this wonderful Linderella story in spite of
some peoples’ feeble attempts of humor.

BTW, by calling this is a Linderella story should not be interpreted as a
homophobic slur and does not in any way insinuate that Jeremy Lin is gay.

Let’s embrace our differences in the same way Linsanity has enraptured our
hearts.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

]]> http://www.theemike.com/nbas-linsanity-ridiculously-turns-into-racial-hyper-sensitivity/feed/ 0 Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay’s Comments “Blitz” Peyton Manning http://www.theemike.com/indianapolis-colts-owner-jim-irsays-comments-blitz-peyton-manning/ http://www.theemike.com/indianapolis-colts-owner-jim-irsays-comments-blitz-peyton-manning/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:14:58 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=993 Seems as if Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay anticipated the snap, got off the [...]]]>

Seems as if Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay anticipated the snap, got off the edge quickly and caught football fans flat-footed with an unexpected blitz following his comments yesterday concerning star QB Peyton Manning’s future with the team. 

According to Irsay, Peyton will decide whether he plays another game for the Colts. This puts the onus squarely on the shoulder pads of the four time NFL MVP by forcing him to respond to the Colts owner before they are scheduled to meet next week. 

On the one hand, this is a brilliant move by the shrewd Irsay; it places Manning back on his heels inhis own proverbial backfield without Jeff Saturday anywhere in sight. The Colts are contractually obligated to pay Manning a whopping $28 million roster bonus by March 8, 2012.

However, Irsay wants Manning to re-work his bloated contract for the benefit of the team’s future, so the Colts can free up available cash to attract much needed free agents and, most importantly, sign Stanford’s Andrew Luck, certain to be their number one choice in the 2012 NFL Draft. 

On the other hand, Irsay’s public comments appear to find Manning stuck between a rock and two unblocked, athletic defensive ends. The Super Bowl MVP, though cleared medically to play again, will turn 36 years old in March, and most NFL insiders contend that #18′s best days are already behind him. Although he missed all of the Colts’ dismal 2-14 season, Manning still pocketed a whopping $23 million in total compensation and painfully watched his would-be QB replacements struggle directing the Colts offense and finding open receivers. 

If Manning truly embodies the media darling we’ve witnessed as an NFL player and as a genuine advertising spokesperson for multiple global brands, then he’ll do what’s right, what’s noble, what’s admirable and what’s totally unexpected from so many of today’s perceived gluttonous athletes. 

Peyton will re-work his deal for the good of the team. 

Peyton will re-work his deal for the good of the exceedingly rich legacy that he has carefully cultivated in Indianapolis and beyond. 

Peyton will re-work his deal for the good of football by mentoring a very able successor and remaining loyal to a franchise, a city and the fans who have always been patient and faithful to him. 

My expectation is that in vintage Peyton Manning style, #18 has already anticipated Irsay’s blindside blitzing comments. Peyton will soon call his own surprise audible which will impress not only Colts loyalists, but NFL fans everywhere as the immensely likeable, amazingly talented professional we have known him to be.  

Straight talk. No static. 

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports! 

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

]]> http://www.theemike.com/indianapolis-colts-owner-jim-irsays-comments-blitz-peyton-manning/feed/ 0 Verbal Valentine’s Day Massacre of Sorts from Lebron James, Floyd Mayweather and others http://www.theemike.com/verbal-valentines-day-massacre-of-sorts-from-lebron-james-floyd-mayweather-and-others/ http://www.theemike.com/verbal-valentines-day-massacre-of-sorts-from-lebron-james-floyd-mayweather-and-others/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:40:33 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=990
On this 14th day of February, love should be willingly offered, genuinely expressed and universally shared by all…both on and off the playing field, basketball court, hockey rink, boxing ring and even broadcast booth. 
 
However, a rash of ugly and unnecessary utterances from the athletic world seem to be crushing Cupid’s big day and transforming it into a verbal Valentine’s Day Massacre of sorts…in sports!
 
Hate speech, silly threats, racially ridiculing rants and cruel comments are dominating sports headlines on this special day - historically set aside for flowers, chocolates, romantic dinners and glittering surprises in expertly wrapped velvet lined boxes.
 
Needless knuckleheaded prattle has proceeded from the lips of several prominent sports personalities; namely:
 
Media hound and prison bound boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, whose unprovoked and unwarranted tweet attributing NY Knicks Jeremy Lin’s success to racial prediliction form the press because he’s Asian, is not only irresponsible, but it’s also just propostourous.
 
Normally laid back NBA mega-star LeBron James’ pointed threat to beat up Washington Wizards’ fan Bob Moore for disparaging comments about his Mom is totally uncharacteristic and certainly uncalled for from this basketball king without a ring. However, the Heat star’s harsh words should soon warrant a reprimanding call from the league office. 
 
Foolish Minnesota Wild prospect Justin Fontaine’s careless homophobic slur about the grunge band Foo Fighters earned him a lot more time than a stint in the penalty box. But, to some, Fontaine’s tasteless tweet should yield him more than a two game suspension.
 
Loud and loquacious ESPN sportscaster Chris Carter’s candid comments regarding mercurial wide receiver Randy Moss’ comeback prickled the former Pat, Raider, Viking and Titan to launch his own social media diatribe response to the outspoken, yet traditionally overlooked Canton inductee. 
 
And, boorish basketball blogger Jason Whitlock’s sophomorically stereotypical statement about the aforementioned Jermey Lin should earn him a pink slip from Fox Sports for his shameless lack of professionalism.
 
On this special day reserved for endearingly special speech, the above referenced sports personalities’ words are certainly making Cupid cringe.
 
Yes, Cupid, as the lyrics go, should pull back his bow and let his arrow go, straight through the lips, sealing them shut, of those who would think about massacring Valentine’s Day with their callous comments.
 
Straight talk. No static. Happy Valentine’s Day!
 
MIKE – the ultimate talking head on sports!
 
http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans
 
 
 
 
 
]]> http://www.theemike.com/verbal-valentines-day-massacre-of-sorts-from-lebron-james-floyd-mayweather-and-others/feed/ 1 Jeremy Lin’s a Lin-sanity Follows Tim Tebow’s NFL Tebow-mania http://www.theemike.com/jeremy-lins-a-lin-sanity-follows-tim-tebows-nfl-tebow-mania/ http://www.theemike.com/jeremy-lins-a-lin-sanity-follows-tim-tebows-nfl-tebow-mania/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:39:31 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=987
Following this NFL season’s all-consuming bout with Tebow-mania, no one in the world of sports – players, coaches or fans – could have seen anything resembling this totally unexpected spell of “Lin-sanity” coming.
 
No one in the field of sports media – journalists, sportscasters or bloggers – could have predicted another Tim Tebow-like, or in this case,”Lin-sane” media frenzy surrounding an undrafted point guard from an academically elite university with an underwhelming basketball pedigree.
 
No one with a prognosticating mind - mathematicians, psychics or Las Vegas oddsmakers - could have “Lin-visioned” another Tim Tebow-type media circus that a recently graduated economics student, culturally stereotyped to be a future NBA statistician instead of basketball star, could cause by defying all odds relating to what he has spectacularly accomplished within the past ten days.
 
No one, i.e. except Jeremy Lin.
 
Whether you like it or not, Jeremy is now “Lin in our faces” and seen on every sports media outlet on the planet. And deservedly so!
 
Sports fans, basketball coaches and even opposing players can’t get enough of this “Lin-spiring” feel good story with all the sentimental sensationalism of a Rocky or Rudy movie because Jeremy has overcome “Lin-surmountable” obstacles to burnish his place in basbetball history.
 
The 23 year-old NY Knicks point guard is the first ever American born Chinese or Taiwanese player in the NBA and has led his surging team to five straight victories despite playing without the Knicks’ two biggest stars - Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. In his first four outings, Lin has scored 109 points, the most ever in history for an NBA player. Yes, not even Magic, Bird, Michael, Kobe or Lebron had matched Jeremy’s “Lin-comprehensible” feat in their rookie seasons.
 
Lin’s amazing emergence and soaring popularity are “Lin-credible” when understanding how quickly Lin’s lore has risen. Only two weeks ago this Harvard grad rode the NY Knicks bench in total anonimity, grateful that an NBA had placed its confidence in him by rewarding him a spot on its roster. Undrafted, Lin was waived twice within the past year by the Warriors and Rockets and relegated four times to the NBA’s Developmental League to hone his craft and become better game tested.
 
Lin’s patience and work ethic have rewarded him handsomely with significant playing time for the Knicks as well as with his inexplicable rise to become last week’s top trender on Twitter for averaging 26.8 points and 7 assists in his first five games as a pro.
 
However, the Harvard educated point guard may have an “Lin-side” advantage when evaluating the suddenly positive economic impact his success has yielded. Lin’s #17 NY Knicks jersey is the NBA’s top seller since February 4th. Lin’s overnight popularity and the Knicks’ sudden success have generated a 30% rise in ticket prices to some Knicks games. And, Lin’s astronomic social media popularity in both the USA and Far East is still too premature to calculate the “Lin-calcuable” financial bounty his newfound fame will “Lin-evitably” produce.
 
Whether Jeremy Lin continues his amazing level of play on the court or sustains his popularity off the court, this Harvard alum will leave a lasting impression on sports fans everywhere. Lin’s perserverance, scintillating play and, most importantly, his genuine humility in handing his “Lin-stant” overnight fame will not be quicky forgotten.  
 
Therefore, I say, let the “Lin-sanity” continue.
 
Straight talk. No static.
 
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
 
 
 
]]> http://www.theemike.com/jeremy-lins-a-lin-sanity-follows-tim-tebows-nfl-tebow-mania/feed/ 0 LA Clippers Blake Griffin’s Posterizing NBA Dunk on OKC’s Kendrick Perkins http://www.theemike.com/la-clippers-blake-griffins-posterizing-nba-dunk-on-okcs-kendrick-perkins/ http://www.theemike.com/la-clippers-blake-griffins-posterizing-nba-dunk-on-okcs-kendrick-perkins/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:17:41 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=984  

Yesterday’s web trending results confirmed that a ferocious dunk on a [...]]]>

 

Yesterday’s web trending results confirmed that a ferocious dunk on a respected defender will monopolize coverage on every sports media outlet.

 

But, even when a posterizing play sets the sports media world ablaze, history will prove that one electrifying dunk does not guarantee a player’s long term NBA success.

 

Just ask Kenny Walker, Gerald Green, Harold Miner, Isaiah Rider, Fred Jones, Desmond Mason, Nate Robinson, Cedric Ceballos and Jason Richardson – all former NBA Slam Dunk champions. Surely, these guys could fly as well as punctuate their dunks with style and aplomb. However, they all enjoyed respectable careers, yet none of these high-flyers will be enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame.

 

Yes, as the aforementioned can attest, soaring, gravity defying slams do not guarantee long term success in an ultra-competitive league where athletically gifted basketball players jockey for physical superiority and strive for that gaudy, diamond encrusted NBA championship ring.

 

The LA Clippers Blake Griffin needs to understand that his dunking prowess will bring fans to their feet and feed media outlets with ample fodder from his fantastic finishes. However, Blake’s sensational slams should always take a back seat to refining his already good game. Griffin must continue to get better if his eyes are focused on multiple rings and a future bronzed bust in Springfield, MA.

 

Though the freakishly talented Griffin has emerged as one of the NBA’s most tantalizing talents, basketball fans should not race to crown him the next superstar worthy of adoration until the former Oklahoma Sooner wins his first playoff series and demonstrates a more rounded and polished game.

 

Griffin plays for a historically bad franchise known for early exits from the NBA post-season. The Clips have upgraded dramatically this season with the addition of NBA superstar Chris Paul and stalwart guard Chauncey Billups, but this “other NBA team in Los Angeles” will require much more from Blake Griffin than alley oop-flushes and rim rocking slams. The Clips need a leader with a complete game that he brings every night.

 

Griffin’s 21.3 ppg scoring and 11.1 rpg rebounding in the NBA have impressed so far this year, but his overall game, necessary for him to soar as an NBA elite player, not dunker, must improve.

 

Griffin must learn to take better care of the ball which he turns over at least three times per game. He’s not a three point shot threat having attempted two so far this season. His Dwight Howard like 50.8% free throw average makes him a liability at the end of games. And, despite ridiculous natural hops, Griffin barely blocks one shot per game.

A fantastic finisher? Absolutely! An electrifying dunker? Probably none better in the game. An elite NBA player? Not yet.

 

However, every basketball player on the planet is pulling for this high flying, Kia selling, immensely likeable, awesomely talented young man from Oklahoma.

 

May a future posterizing print of Blake Griffin don the walls of basketball loving kids’ rooms everywhere one day. But, not of Blake dunking in traffic; rather, of Griffin holding the Larry O’Brien trophy!

 

Straight talk. No static.

 

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

 

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans

 

 

]]> http://www.theemike.com/la-clippers-blake-griffins-posterizing-nba-dunk-on-okcs-kendrick-perkins/feed/ 0 10 Lumps of Coal From Christmas Day NBA Television Coverage http://www.theemike.com/10-lumps-of-coal-from-christmas-day-nba-television-coverage/ http://www.theemike.com/10-lumps-of-coal-from-christmas-day-nba-television-coverage/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:03:37 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=978
Yesterday’s highly anticipated start to the 2011 – 2012 NBA season brought as much Yuletide cheer to basketball fans watching the five game marathon on TNT, ABC and ESPN as a shovel full of coal in a Christmas stocking hanging from the fireplace.
 
Following an abbreviated pre-season due to a protracted labor negotiation, yesterday’s games were definitely not pretty. In a league touted as the place where “amazing happens,” little if anything witnessed by TV viewers came close to qualifying as amazing.
 
Let’s face it. Teams weren’t ready, play was sloppy, guys aren’t in shape and pandering sportscasters made excuses for the lackluster play.
 
The 5 bill of games resembled lumps of coal in a Christmas stocking rather than glittering gifts basketball fans had eagerly anticipated.
 
Here’s my list of the Top Ten Lumps of Christmas Coal from yesterday’s day long basketball coverage: 
 
Lump #1 – the old, slow-footed, out-of-sync Boston Celtics playing without star Paul Pierce that barely resembled a perrenial NBA elite team.
 
Lump #2 – the older, slower-footed, more out-of-sync Dallas Mavericks, starting this season without stars Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea from last year’s championship squad, struggled and played poorly on the same day the team unfurled its 2010 – 2011 NBA Championship banner before the game.
 
Lump #3 – the young, fleet-footed and anxiously anticipated new kids on the block in Southern California, the LA Clippers, should have appeared during prime time rather than nearing midnight so East Coast viewers could enjoy “Lob City” before calling it a day.
 
Lump #4 – Lamar Odom, the NBA’s “original Mrs. Kardashian” (sorry, Kris!) and normally mellow former Los Angeles Laker, got booted out of his first game as a Mav. Not even the cantankerous Mark Cuban could support such inexcusable behavior, Christmas Day or not.
 
Lump #5 – Kevin Garnett, always a trash talking instigator but never a fighter, should get his come-uppence later this week by facing a fine and possible suspension for foolishly swinging at New York Knicks’ Billy Walker following Garnett’s missed game winning shot at Madison Square Garden.
 
Lump #6 – Lebron James’ James Harden impersonation or whatever you call his new beard. Why would this extraordinarily talented, oft-maligned and misunderstood NBA superstar subject himself to future media lampooning and disparagement by sporting such unnecessary facial hair.
 
Lump #7 – Dwight Howard, a major distraction to his very own team for pining to be traded out of Orlando as the new season starts, once again demonstrated little leadership and less offensive skill against a superior OKC Thunder squad.
 
Lump #8 – Shaq, an unmitigated disaster in his debut as TNT’s new basketball talking head. Inarticulate and nervous behind the TNT desk, the Big Fella looked terribly uncomfortable in the broadcast booth and needs to be operating freestyle away from the set to best utilize his insight and talent.
 
Lump #9 – Kobe Bryant, arguably the game’s best finisher, enjoyed an earlier than expected Christmas dinner when Chicago Bulls’ forward Luol Deng stuffed his potential game winning shot down his throat following Kobe’s eighth turnover that led to Derrick Rose’s game winner with 4 seconds left.
 
Lump #10 – ABC and ESPN announcers constantly made excuses for yesterday’s consistently below average play while shamelessly pandering to an angry, agitated Kobe Bryant on Christmas Day. On a holiday when family and faithfulness were being collectively celebrated, the network could have easily interviewed and reported on a more deserving – and better behaved - family man.
 
The overall play in the 5 bill Christmas Day coverage fell way short of NBA fans’ expectations yesterday. Kinda like when an adoring wife expects to be “amazed” by a diamond ring from Tiffany’s jewelers and what “happens” instead is she’s surprised by a cubic zirconia from Walmart.
 
However, despite those Christmas clumps of coal we witnessed yesterday, what did arise for basketball fans is what should become this NBA season’s glimmering diamond – the Miami Heat. Without the hype, minus the fanfare and missing last year’s bravado, King James and company impressed all NBA viewers with their easy dismantling of the last year’s champ, the Dallas Mavericks.
 
Yes, the Heat should gleam as the NBA’s diamond this year while causing fear and leaving lumps (though not necessarily of coal) in the throats of all would be challengers for the 2012 NBA Championship in June. 
 
Straight talk. No static.
 
MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
 
]]> http://www.theemike.com/10-lumps-of-coal-from-christmas-day-nba-television-coverage/feed/ 0 Sandusky, Fine, Bonds, Hurd, Braun, Rudy Scandals Altering Sports’ Power? http://www.theemike.com/sandusky-fine-bonds-hurd-braun-rudy-scandals-changing-sportss-power/ http://www.theemike.com/sandusky-fine-bonds-hurd-braun-rudy-scandals-changing-sportss-power/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:37:11 +0000 MIKE http://www.theemike.com/?p=973 “Sports has the power to change the world.”

So says 1993 Nobel Peace Prize [...]]]>

“Sports has the power to change the world.”

So says 1993 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former South African President Nelson Mandela, who uttered the words many have lauded as the most poignant sports quote ever. But the famous quote, intended to extol the virtues of sports as an agent for moral integrity and positive social change, is of late coming under attack and demonstrating just how powerful sports can be to the contrary, at least here in America.

Recent reports of sordid behavior from star athletes, sports icons, trusted coaches and storied institutions have sullied the public’s perception and caused many to mutter that sports also has the power to change the world…..for the worse.

Recent scandals in the news include home run king Barry Bonds’ sentencing on a perjury conviction, Chicago Bears WR Sam Hurd’s arrest on drug trafficking, University of Notre Dame’s beloved football icon Rudy Ruettiger’s $382,000+ settlement with the SEC for bilking investors, MLB MVP Ryan Braun’s charge of using performance enhancing drugs and LA Lakers Kobe Bryant’s divorce due to serial adultery claims.

If the above run in negative sports news wasn’t enough, sports fans’ belief in Mandela’s moral mantra and social ideals was challenged further by disclosures that former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine were using their sports positions to engage in sexual dominance over unsuspecting, innocent children.

Certainly, this was not the kind of activity that Nelson Mandela had in mind when quoting his inspiring words. Perhaps most shocking to America’s sports fan base was the growing understanding that the college coaches’ repeated sexual acts upon youth were perpetrated at well-known academic institutions. That the environs of two of America’s respected universities could be involved in a sexual “power play” upon young children and that one of them, namely Jo Pa’s legendary Penn State, could cover, knowingly, for their pedophile coach went beyond the pale. The result was shock, outrage and devastation to a loyal American population that considers sports a national past time, passion and point of pride.

Who could deny that the pain Sandusky and Fine have wrought upon their alleged innocent victims won’t endure for a lifetime? And who can state with certainty that other highly regarded academic institutions aren’t turning blind eyes to the power of sports to impact society in more degrading ways?

Yes. Sports has the power to change the world. But at least in America, where sports entitles one to privilege, access, opportunity . . . and, not to mention, blind eyes, Nelson Mandela’s words are taking on a whole new meaning and sports at all levels will forever find itself under the microscope as a result of the heinous acts of only a select few.

Let’s all hope that the rush of recent disclosures in America’s world of sports cause society at large and those in positions of authority to exercise power to restore Mandela’s quote back to its original meaning and change the world for good.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

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