Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Bits and Bites...
I just wanted to address a couple of controversies while I have a few spare minutes...
Derek Lowe: Big friggin' deal. The guy went back to Boston with his team's blessing, was given a Red Sox jersey to wear, and wore it. He's not wearing a Sox jersey around the Dodger clubhouse, or before a game... he wore it for the ring ceremony because he was a part of a team that accomplished something special. Whether it's Boston's first in 86 years, or their 86th in a row, it's something *he* had never experienced before, and deserved to go back and enjoy the day. Kudos to the Dodgers staff and players for handling it so graciously and allowing him every opportunity to enjoy it... I don't think anyone has to worry about where his focus will be from here on out. Get over it.
Jermaine O'Neal: Racism is still an important issue everywhere in our lives... the accusation that an minimum age limit in basketball has racist undertones may be a bit over the top, but I can see why he would feel that way and in a strange way he has a point. Sidney Crosby is hockey's LeBron... he gets to be drafted when he's 18, and Canadian networks have been hovering around him for years. He will play right away... or at least he would if there was a league to play in. No one wants to make him wait. Baseball players don't have to wait... golf, tennis and soccer have ridiculously young phenoms within their sports. Athletes are getting bigger, better and younger... there is no denying this.
All that being said, I think the problem here has to be qualified... no one can blame the NBA for at least examining the effects of a minimum age requirement. There are many kids who might not be cut out for the NBA who go to soon because they have that ever elusive "upside." Where JO's vision of a bias carries some truth with me is within the sports media and the general public. Most discussions I've seen in the mainstream sports media support the idea of an age limit. I don't hear that in other sports, and being that it's the only sport where those directly affected by an age limit would essentially all be black athletes... well let's just say I think if you've most likely dealt with racism at various points throughout your life, it's probably pretty easy to make that jump.
Personally I don't think there are racist undertones, especially none made knowingly or willingly, but I also don't think that a 20 year-old requirement is an answer. If your argument is the chance at a degree, be very wary of your hockey counterparts who for the most part don't experience post-secondary education at all. It is no doubt a tough decision for a very young person to make... but since it would be next to impossible to force them to finish degrees before entering the NBA, I don't think going halfway will do much good.
And some loose ends...
Pick up Joey Gathright if you have room... I don't know what the plan is with Alex Sanchez, and chances are Gathright's excellent start with the D-Rays will only make them more compelled to send him back to Durham, but he can't hurt to hold on to if you can afford to.
Someone kidnap Edgardo Alfonzo... unless he made a deal with the devil, he must've found some strange rejuvenation machine that the rest of us could use.
Did Dontrelle Willis get called overrated so much that he's now become underrated? (second straight SO today)
Before the season if you were going to hear the words "The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team to have won six games" in a sentence, would you have though to yourself: "At the end of April, the Toronto Blue Jays are the only team to have won just six games?"
Finally my Jeff Francis update: through four innings he's only given up two hits and one run... but four(!) walks. Still not showing the kind of control we expected... maybe he's scared off the plate a little after getting lit up a few times. He needs to find that groove that has eluded him thus far in the majors.
Derek Lowe: Big friggin' deal. The guy went back to Boston with his team's blessing, was given a Red Sox jersey to wear, and wore it. He's not wearing a Sox jersey around the Dodger clubhouse, or before a game... he wore it for the ring ceremony because he was a part of a team that accomplished something special. Whether it's Boston's first in 86 years, or their 86th in a row, it's something *he* had never experienced before, and deserved to go back and enjoy the day. Kudos to the Dodgers staff and players for handling it so graciously and allowing him every opportunity to enjoy it... I don't think anyone has to worry about where his focus will be from here on out. Get over it.
Jermaine O'Neal: Racism is still an important issue everywhere in our lives... the accusation that an minimum age limit in basketball has racist undertones may be a bit over the top, but I can see why he would feel that way and in a strange way he has a point. Sidney Crosby is hockey's LeBron... he gets to be drafted when he's 18, and Canadian networks have been hovering around him for years. He will play right away... or at least he would if there was a league to play in. No one wants to make him wait. Baseball players don't have to wait... golf, tennis and soccer have ridiculously young phenoms within their sports. Athletes are getting bigger, better and younger... there is no denying this.
All that being said, I think the problem here has to be qualified... no one can blame the NBA for at least examining the effects of a minimum age requirement. There are many kids who might not be cut out for the NBA who go to soon because they have that ever elusive "upside." Where JO's vision of a bias carries some truth with me is within the sports media and the general public. Most discussions I've seen in the mainstream sports media support the idea of an age limit. I don't hear that in other sports, and being that it's the only sport where those directly affected by an age limit would essentially all be black athletes... well let's just say I think if you've most likely dealt with racism at various points throughout your life, it's probably pretty easy to make that jump.
Personally I don't think there are racist undertones, especially none made knowingly or willingly, but I also don't think that a 20 year-old requirement is an answer. If your argument is the chance at a degree, be very wary of your hockey counterparts who for the most part don't experience post-secondary education at all. It is no doubt a tough decision for a very young person to make... but since it would be next to impossible to force them to finish degrees before entering the NBA, I don't think going halfway will do much good.
And some loose ends...
Pick up Joey Gathright if you have room... I don't know what the plan is with Alex Sanchez, and chances are Gathright's excellent start with the D-Rays will only make them more compelled to send him back to Durham, but he can't hurt to hold on to if you can afford to.
Someone kidnap Edgardo Alfonzo... unless he made a deal with the devil, he must've found some strange rejuvenation machine that the rest of us could use.
Did Dontrelle Willis get called overrated so much that he's now become underrated? (second straight SO today)
Before the season if you were going to hear the words "The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team to have won six games" in a sentence, would you have though to yourself: "At the end of April, the Toronto Blue Jays are the only team to have won just six games?"
Finally my Jeff Francis update: through four innings he's only given up two hits and one run... but four(!) walks. Still not showing the kind of control we expected... maybe he's scared off the plate a little after getting lit up a few times. He needs to find that groove that has eluded him thus far in the majors.
