In the interest of sparking debate/conversation, I’m throwing out some topics:
1. Should the Texans draft Reggie Bush over Mario Williams? If the Texans have their biggest problems on both sides of the line and they have a chance to draft a player that some people think is the next Julius Peppers, would Williams not address a greater need and provide a bigger impact on the Texans’ fortunes next season? Also, how will Bush be used? Will he be used as a traditional 20-carry RB? Will he be used as a hybrid cross between Dante Hall, Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle-El and Barry Sanders? Can the conservative head coaching styles of the NFL find a proper use for Bush’s talents or will he become Michael Vick-ified where the proverbial square peg/round hole scenario erupts?
2. Is Steve Nash really worthy of the MVP over Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? While I understand that seven players all achieved their highest scoring averages while playing with Nash this year, did Nash really do more for the Suns than Bryant or James did for their respective teams? Both Bryant and James carried their teams to the playoffs without that sidekick that makes good teams great in the NBA. To use Bill Simmons’ MVP-analyzing methodology for a moment, could the Suns not have made the playoffs with another PG running the show there? Shawn Marion is a tremendous talent in his own right. Kobe Bryant’s best sidekick was Lamar Odom and, good grief, don’t even ask about the sort of cruddy players LeBron has to put up with (Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes don’t exactly qualify as NBA sidekick material). I just don’t know if Nash was worthy of this back-to-back MVP.
3. Since we’re on the subject of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, it has to be said that Kobe’s dunk “over” Nash last night is one of the most overrated dunks I’ve seen in quite some time. I woke up and turned on “Mike & Mike” on ESPN2 and both were raving about how Kobe hurdled Nash and how it was the best dunk they’d seen. I quickly flipped the channel to ESPNNews to see a replay. Not only did Kobe not hurdle Nash, he didn’t even jump over him. Nash was called for a blocking foul. He landed on his behind several feet in front of where Kobe landed. By definition, then, Kobe didn’t hurdle Nash. Vince Carter’s dunk over Frenchman Frederic Weis in the 2000 Olympics was textbook hurdling. Kobe’s dunk was an impressive feat of elevation over a stationary object that does not defend the ball even in the best of circumstances. Let’s not hype something that didn’t happen, OK?
4. Finally, onto baseball. There is a debate in the so-called Red Sox Nation about what Jon Papelbon’s future role should be. Some want to convert him into a starter immediately. Others want to convert him into a starter next year. Still others believe he should remain a closer. I know my own feelings on the subject – Papelbon should be left in as Boston’s closer for the next 10 years – but I’m curious to spark the debate. In my view, despite the complete worthlessness of the save statistic, there is unquestionable value in having a reliable pitcher closing out games. As teams like the Braves, Astros, Mets and Phillies have found out, the lack of a true closer can spell doom for a World Series contender. It is so rare to find someone both comfortable and capable in the role of closer. The Red Sox have found a gem and should leave him there untouched.
1. Should the Texans draft Reggie Bush over Mario Williams? If the Texans have their biggest problems on both sides of the line and they have a chance to draft a player that some people think is the next Julius Peppers, would Williams not address a greater need and provide a bigger impact on the Texans’ fortunes next season? Also, how will Bush be used? Will he be used as a traditional 20-carry RB? Will he be used as a hybrid cross between Dante Hall, Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle-El and Barry Sanders? Can the conservative head coaching styles of the NFL find a proper use for Bush’s talents or will he become Michael Vick-ified where the proverbial square peg/round hole scenario erupts?
2. Is Steve Nash really worthy of the MVP over Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? While I understand that seven players all achieved their highest scoring averages while playing with Nash this year, did Nash really do more for the Suns than Bryant or James did for their respective teams? Both Bryant and James carried their teams to the playoffs without that sidekick that makes good teams great in the NBA. To use Bill Simmons’ MVP-analyzing methodology for a moment, could the Suns not have made the playoffs with another PG running the show there? Shawn Marion is a tremendous talent in his own right. Kobe Bryant’s best sidekick was Lamar Odom and, good grief, don’t even ask about the sort of cruddy players LeBron has to put up with (Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes don’t exactly qualify as NBA sidekick material). I just don’t know if Nash was worthy of this back-to-back MVP.
3. Since we’re on the subject of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, it has to be said that Kobe’s dunk “over” Nash last night is one of the most overrated dunks I’ve seen in quite some time. I woke up and turned on “Mike & Mike” on ESPN2 and both were raving about how Kobe hurdled Nash and how it was the best dunk they’d seen. I quickly flipped the channel to ESPNNews to see a replay. Not only did Kobe not hurdle Nash, he didn’t even jump over him. Nash was called for a blocking foul. He landed on his behind several feet in front of where Kobe landed. By definition, then, Kobe didn’t hurdle Nash. Vince Carter’s dunk over Frenchman Frederic Weis in the 2000 Olympics was textbook hurdling. Kobe’s dunk was an impressive feat of elevation over a stationary object that does not defend the ball even in the best of circumstances. Let’s not hype something that didn’t happen, OK?
4. Finally, onto baseball. There is a debate in the so-called Red Sox Nation about what Jon Papelbon’s future role should be. Some want to convert him into a starter immediately. Others want to convert him into a starter next year. Still others believe he should remain a closer. I know my own feelings on the subject – Papelbon should be left in as Boston’s closer for the next 10 years – but I’m curious to spark the debate. In my view, despite the complete worthlessness of the save statistic, there is unquestionable value in having a reliable pitcher closing out games. As teams like the Braves, Astros, Mets and Phillies have found out, the lack of a true closer can spell doom for a World Series contender. It is so rare to find someone both comfortable and capable in the role of closer. The Red Sox have found a gem and should leave him there untouched.
No comments:
Post a Comment