NBA?

How many here actually follow the NBA? I think the NBA is the biggest joke in pro sports especially with Lebron James and how he treated and left Cleveland.
I used to love and follow the NBA religiously back in the 70's/80's with players like Kareem, Magic, Larry Bird, McHale, Dr. J back when they respected the game and when it wasn't about money or the spotlight on the camera.
They have glamerized the sport so much that it is a joke. And to confirm this even more was the dunk championship yesterday where Blake Griffin won. I think he is talented but it is how he went about it.

He brought out a choir and a car to dunk over. I saw this on video this morning come NBA you have lower yourself to do this what a joke. The NBA needs to revaluate it's status as a pro sport. You ever notice as well it's the same teams that are always in the playoffs year after year. Thos smaller market teams have no chance with teams like LAL, San Antonio, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Boston.
And how they go about the draft is even a bigger joke it isn't like the NHL or NFL if you have the worst record you draft first. The NBA you getso many balloons and from there your chances are better but you still aren't assured of a good pick.
The Timberpuppies for years one of the worst teams that have never in 20 years of being around have never had #1 pick, their best pick ever was 4th when they picked Kevin Garnett.

The NBA needs to make some changes which I doubt will happen.

I'd rather watch Baseball, NFL, NHL in the order. The NFL is getting to be like the NBA in some aspects and I hope they do lock so they can actually see the fans are the ones who pay their salaries.

Wargod51

I don't like the NBA either.

By contrast, I go crazy for March Madness. I like college basketball much more than the NBA because upsets happen constantly. Just yesterday alone, 3 top 10 teams lost to unranked opponents.

tohostudios wrote:

I don't like the NBA either.

By contrast, I go crazy for March Madness. I like college basketball much more than the NBA because upsets happen constantly. Just yesterday alone, 3 top 10 teams lost to unranked opponents.

The NCAA has something the NBA doesnt - once and done. It makes each game really meaningful rather than a series. I also think the NBA is too star oriented - basketball is a team sport and team basketball is much more entertaining to watch then people constantly trying to out-dunk one another.

I casually watch the NBA but your points are all valid. But all pro sports are getting to this stage and it's because of the money.

TheNazgul wrote:

I casually watch the NBA but your points are all valid. But all pro sports are getting to this stage and it's because of the money.

I would agree with the money part. It is getting to be obnoxious with stuff like the Pujols situation.

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

I can't stand the NBA!!! When I was a kid in the 80's, I liked the league quite a bit. Being from Wisconsin, and having the Bucks as the Central division champs from 79-86 didn't hurt either, but that was only one part of why I enjoyed the product. Even though the NBA has grown exponentially from a financial standpoint (so much so that they would like to expand over seas), I think expansion really has hurt this league. Players are better athletes today, but fundamentally speaking, not so much. I don't like how many players are one and done regarding their college basketball experience, just because of that all important phrase we here; he has "Upside" to his game. In other words, he's a physical specimen with potential, but he doesn't have a honed game at this point.

Players back in the 80's were better fundamentally in boxing out, passing, and shooting the mid range jumper (using the glass). Today's game is all about dunking and launching it up from three. Don't get me wrong, there are players who are well rounded in todays' game, look no further than LeBron James. It's just that today's players in the NBA are more one dimensional. I think the worst thing to happen to the game was when the NBA rewarded franchises to the likes of Minnesota, Miami, Charlotte (now in New Orleans), Vancouver (now in Memphis) and Orlando. It's not that some of these cities can't support their franchises or are bad fans, it's just that the league became water downed. I could name bench players 5-10 deep regarding NBA rosters in the 80's, and that's because many of those players were really good players. Could I do that today? Probably not, but I don't care to, so that makes a big difference.

That's where college basketball comes into play. There are great teachers in the college game, and most of these guys who leave early would benefit from staying in college longer. I understand the pressure must be immense when it comes to seeing all those dollar signs, and having the ability to take care of mom and dad for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, you have many college kids who leave early based upon false information given to them by shoddy agents. Then what happens? These kids end up leaving early without anything close to a degree, and spend their time in what is a total lark of a minor league system in the "D League". The C.B.A. was a pretty good league, and the best thing the NBA ever had to a minor league system, but then Isiah Thomas got a hold of it, and ran it into the ground.

Probably the best thing for basketball players who don't make it in the NBA the first go around (but have promise), would be to play overseas. Not only would they get a chance to get a good luck at the vast improvement of the European players, but these kids will get to revel in the culture. Unfortunately, most won't do this, because they get homesick.

Even though I can't stand the NBA, I love the college game, and I always will. This passion for the game goes back to the Magic/Larry showdown in Salt Lake City Utah in 1979. Since then, I've been to NCAA tournament games/Conference tournament games, and there simply is nothing like it. If the NBA was so much greater than the college game, then you would have people getting excited about generating an office pool for the NBA playoffs. Uhh.....that simply will never happen.

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

Both the Cards and Pujols say the numbers being thrown around in the media aren't even close. My feeling is Pujols will compromise on either the per year money or the years but not both. Personally, if he insists on 10 years at 30 mil per year, good riddance to him. We could take that 30 mil per year and get a couple of really good players.

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

Both the Cards and Pujols say the numbers being thrown around in the media aren't even close. My feeling is Pujols will compromise on either the per year money or the years but not both. Personally, if he insists on 10 years at 30 mil per year, good riddance to him. We could take that 30 mil per year and get a couple of really good players.

I agree - he is arguably the best hitter in the league and he would a great addition to any team but he will be a huge liability contract wise when he is in the later years of his contract.

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

Both the Cards and Pujols say the numbers being thrown around in the media aren't even close. My feeling is Pujols will compromise on either the per year money or the years but not both. Personally, if he insists on 10 years at 30 mil per year, good riddance to him. We could take that 30 mil per year and get a couple of really good players.

I agree - he is arguably the best hitter in the league and he would a great addition to any team but he will be a huge liability contract wise when he is in the later years of his contract.

That is why he is destined for the American League. Nobody in their right mind would take on a contract of epic proportions for a position player who will be 38-40 years old by the time the contract is over with. My guess is the Yankees will move Texeira at the end of this season, and will do everything in their means to bring in Pujols. The Red Sox made huge waves this off season in the free agent market, and the Yankees for once did absolutely nothing (Gotta love that). Now that C.C has the ability to get out of his contract after this seasons, this will put immense pressure on their organization to resign C.C and go hard after Pujols. They will trade Texeira, and probably get some pitching out of it. This would obviously be very damaging to the Cards, but they would get some nice draft picks (compensatory) out of losing Albert. I'm guessing this would also mean that this would also be LaRussa's last year.

metalinmyveins wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

Both the Cards and Pujols say the numbers being thrown around in the media aren't even close. My feeling is Pujols will compromise on either the per year money or the years but not both. Personally, if he insists on 10 years at 30 mil per year, good riddance to him. We could take that 30 mil per year and get a couple of really good players.

I agree - he is arguably the best hitter in the league and he would a great addition to any team but he will be a huge liability contract wise when he is in the later years of his contract.

That is why he is destined for the American League. Nobody in their right mind would take on a contract of epic proportions for a position player who will be 38-40 years old by the time the contract is over with. My guess is the Yankees will move Texeira at the end of this season, and will do everything in their means to bring in Pujols. The Red Sox made huge waves this off season in the free agent market, and the Yankees for once did absolutely nothing (Gotta love that). Now that C.C has the ability to get out of his contract after this seasons, this will put immense pressure on their organization to resign C.C and go hard after Pujols. They will trade Texeira, and probably get some pitching out of it. This would obviously be very damaging to the Cards, but they would get some nice draft picks (compensatory) out of losing Albert. I'm guessing this would also mean that this would also be LaRussa's last year.

the phils torpedoed the yankees plans by getting Lee as well. Cant say I am unhappy with the yankees fortunes. The nice part is Blanton will be yankee by the end of spring training - letting his market value go up.

exact33 wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

The word here on the Pujols standoff is that it's not the money, it's the years. Guy wants a 10 year contract and at his age, that's insane.

he is willing to take less than 30mil? I had heard the cards offered him $20-25 and less years. From what I had heard he wanted to top A-Roids contract.

Both the Cards and Pujols say the numbers being thrown around in the media aren't even close. My feeling is Pujols will compromise on either the per year money or the years but not both. Personally, if he insists on 10 years at 30 mil per year, good riddance to him. We could take that 30 mil per year and get a couple of really good players.

I agree - he is arguably the best hitter in the league and he would a great addition to any team but he will be a huge liability contract wise when he is in the later years of his contract.

That is why he is destined for the American League. Nobody in their right mind would take on a contract of epic proportions for a position player who will be 38-40 years old by the time the contract is over with. My guess is the Yankees will move Texeira at the end of this season, and will do everything in their means to bring in Pujols. The Red Sox made huge waves this off season in the free agent market, and the Yankees for once did absolutely nothing (Gotta love that). Now that C.C has the ability to get out of his contract after this seasons, this will put immense pressure on their organization to resign C.C and go hard after Pujols. They will trade Texeira, and probably get some pitching out of it. This would obviously be very damaging to the Cards, but they would get some nice draft picks (compensatory) out of losing Albert. I'm guessing this would also mean that this would also be LaRussa's last year.

the phils torpedoed the yankees plans by getting Lee as well. Cant say I am unhappy with the yankees fortunes. The nice part is Blanton will be yankee by the end of spring training - letting his market value go up.

I think the Yankees are due for a bad year. They have two starters right now in C.C and Hughes. Burnett sucked last year, so who knows what they will get out of him this year? To be honest, I never thought that much of the guy when he was with the Marlins or the Blue Jays. Pettite retiring will hurt the Yankees big time. I will be shocked if the Yankess win the division this year. It's Boston's for the taking...

I like the NBA, especially once football season is over.

I don't understand when people say they prefer college over the pros. Each NBA starting 5, not to mention the next few bench players, were stars in college. The NBA is absolutely dense with talent. It's the most dense of the pro sports. Could the do things better? Maybe, but the skill is through the roof.

Not
Basketball
Anymore


That's pretty much all I have to add. Everything else has been clearly pointed out. As for Pujols, do we even know how old he really is? He could be even older than he says, which would make his contract demands even more ridiculous.

And down goes Ohio State today. First time since 2003 that the top 4 teams have all lost in the same week. Gotta love it.

tohostudios wrote:

And down goes Ohio State today. First time since 2003 that the top 4 teams have all lost in the same week. Gotta love it.

Duke may be #1 again if they can hold off Tech...

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

And down goes Ohio State today. First time since 2003 that the top 4 teams have all lost in the same week. Gotta love it.

Duke may be #1 again if they can hold off Tech...

I'm kind of hoping the nod goes to the Aztecs of San Diego. St at 27-1, but I'm sure Duke will be #1 when the polls come out on Monday.

I do not care anything for basketball at any level, I like pro baseball and college football. As for Puhols, I think leaving St. Louis would be a bad thing not only for the team, but also for his place in Cardinals history in joining the select list of people who played their whole career with one team.

I agree that it would be nice to see Pujols retire a Cardinal.

I may watch an occasional game. I much prefer NCAA basketball over the NBA.

Haven't paid attention to basketball since I was a kid. My friend's Dad used to have season tickets for the NJ Nets back in the early 80s so I went to a bunch of games w/him. About all I remember from all those games is that one time Darryl Strawberry was sitting in the row in front of us, and that the Nets' "Jersey Girls" cheerleaders were hot.

Not a fan of the NBA, but I will watch NCAA when my school is playing - ODU!!!!!!!!

thejokeriv wrote:

Not a fan of the NBA, but I will watch NCAA when my school is playing - ODU!!!!!!!!

Well, they should definitely be in it this year. I watched the Monarchs yesterday in the "Bracket Buster" game against Cleveland. St, and damn did they dominate on the boards. The Colonial has always been a good conference, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get three teams in the field this year; George Mason, O.D.U., and Drexel. I picked the Monarchs against Notre Dame last year in the NCAA tournament, because of that I was off to a good start with my picks. I think I won my first 6-7 games, and then it was all down hill after that.

I think that is also one of the great appeals of the NCAA - a low seeded team can beat a big name and move on. Last years tourney just killed conventional wisdom...