July 24, 2007 6:00 AM
NBA betting
The NBA is in real trouble. The gambling accusations that have surfaced in recent days have a real possibility of killing off the NBA. The thought of a referee actually changing the outcome of a game because of his ties to a gambling ring are simply frightening. The integrity of the game has been undermined, and the product on the court has been compromised.
I think we are finding ourselves in the midst of the perfect storm in professional sports. The NBA is embroiled in the gambling allegations. Baseball is about to crown a new home run king who set the record using steroids.The NFL is having to deal with Michael Vick's career going to the dogs, not to mention the Pacman Jones mess.
And the NHL has never recovered from the lockout and the ugly acts of violence perpetrated by the Todd Bertuzzis of the world.
What we have in sports, as well as society, is a complete moral meltdown. It's all about me, me, me. And there is no end in sight. It's scary to imagine Presidential candidates pandering to questions posed by YouTube users. It's scary to imagine the future of the news industry run by user-generated stories without any way of really knowing what's true and what isn't.
I recently watched a documentary about the life of John Lennon and the Nixon administration's attempt to deport him. I was taken by the footage of young Americans showing their displeasure over the Vietnam War, and it made me think of today's younger generation. Why are they so silent? Why are there no massive marches on Washington to protest a war that looks so much like another Vietnam? I'm not here to take a stance on the war in Iraq, but it scares me that an entire generation is silent about something that will greatly impact their future.
Which brings me back to this perfect storm in the world of sports. Is there a correlation between those who find themselves more absorbed in the world of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube and those athetes who seem to care only about themselves, their shoe contracts and their highlights showing up on ESPN every night. I don't know. But it's worth a thought.
Drew
July 24, 2007
7:29 AM
Mike writes:
In one paragraph you slam Presidential candidates taking questions coming from YouTube users and then decry the lack of involvement of the youth?
The two aren't exactly consistent.
July 24, 2007
8:29 AM
Rob writes:
2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
July 24, 2007
9:04 AM
Tom writes:
Simply put....
The NBA should not be allowed to recover from this.
The fans, if the majority were completely intelligent human beings, would walk away from the game right now. We would turn off our TV's and find something else to do with this wasted time. It was bad enough when we were watching street thugs and pseudo-street thugs get paid millions per year to play streetball, but the fact that now the officials are in on things, well....
Wasn't it enough that the '85 draft was fixed by Stern?
Wasn't it enough that LeBron was given a free ride to the Finals?
Wasn't it enough that the NBA didn't suspend Kobe Bryant for his misconduct off the court?
Wasn't it enough that Ron Artest gets to keep playing even though he beats up everyone who crosses his path?
How about Carmelo Anthony? How did he not get suspended for the rest of the season for starting a brawl in New York?
The NBA sucks. Let's face facts. The league needs to fold itself up and go away.
July 24, 2007
12:03 PM
Dale writes:
The NBA!! What about the NFL, the MBL, etc. We might be just scratching the surface, and don't just look at the ref's.
July 24, 2007
12:43 PM
Tom writes:
And now look....the Tour de France has banned yet ANOTHER rider.
The NHL is looking better and better every day. (At least until someone gets caught....and the way things are going....someone probably will.)
Ugh.
July 24, 2007
12:57 PM
Tom writes:
David Stern's quotes from his press conference today.
1. "Mr. Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others," Stern said Tuesday during a packed news conference. "I'll say it again, I understand this is an isolated case."
What Stern really means:
"I HOPE to God this really is an isolated case. Please, please, please, let this be an isolated case!"
2. "Suffice to say, we would have liked to have terminated him earlier, but our understanding was the investigation would best be aided if we did not terminate Mr. Donaghy," Stern said.
What Stern really meant was:
"I would have liked to have TERMINATED (permanently, TERMINATED, i.e. Deep Sixed with weights involved) this guy. Don't I have enough problems trying to get people to watch this freaking league?"
3. "We take our obligation to fans in this matter very seriously," Stern said. "I can stand here today and pledge that we will do every look back possible to analyze our processes and seek the best advice possible to see if there are changes that should be made and procedures that should be implemented to continue to assure fans we're doing the best we possibly can."
What Stern really means is:
"TO OUR FANS: KEEP BUYING TICKETS!"
"To Our Sponsors: PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Keep giving us your money!!!! Don't leave us! PLEASE!!!!!!!"
4. ""My reaction is I can't believe it's happening to us," Stern said.
What Stern really means:
"Oh %#$&!!!! This is complete #@*%$#%$$%@ !!!!! ARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"
July 24, 2007
5:03 PM
Brian writes:
If there was a draft Drew I think there would be protests. I believe the reason for the protests in the '60s and 70s was a very self serving one.
As for the lack of morality in sports...*yawn*