Random Rantings

Miami Heat:
Tonight the Heat beat the Lakers ending their 5 game losing streak that has cause a lot of debate across the sports world.  Everyone knows they brought the best player in the NBA, and greatest Free Agent in league history to pair with former NBA Champion and super star in his own right, Dwyane Wade.  Throw in Chris Bosh, a former Toronto all star who was much coveted in his own right and everyone dubbed them a super team, the new Big 3.

Of course, there were questions going into this season of how effective this team could be.  5 people play at one time, not just 3.  And you have to dynamic playmakers who like to have the ball in their hands and create for their teammates in Wade & James.  Then you have Bosh who is more of a finesse big man.  He is tall, but lanky and tends to play away from the basket.  The one "muscle" type player they had, Udonis Haslem, got injured before the season started and the pick ups that they team has tried to make (Juwan Howard, Erick Dampier, and James' old teammate Ilgauskas) are too old and beat up to really make an impact on a daily basis.

Despite all of this the Heat went on a streak during the early part of the season where they won 21 of 22 games, and really seemed to put to rest many of the doubts that had  been raised in their lackluster 9-8 start.  But since the end of February the Heat have struggled to put games away, once again raising loud concerns from NBA analysts & pundits across the country that this team's present construction is not suitable for beating top teams (Magic, Bulls, Celtics especially, being their eastern conference foes) when the game is on the line.

Having said all that, I think it is absurd to immediately crucify this team.  In today's age of social media and 24 hour sports coverage on the internet, blogs, and ESPN it is very easy to get caught up in the latest good/bad news.  After a couple games won/lost teams are instantly crowned as great or terrible.  Anyone who doubts how good Lebron James really is needs to know one thing.  The team that James left is the worst team in the NBA.  And he is the only significant player they lost.  So in one year they go from being one of the 3 best, to the worst team in the league.  I don't think that the Heat will win this year, but it sure seems like they will figure it out, get some role players who figure out how to play with the stars, and definitely make a run in the next 6 years that they have all three players signed.

NFL Labor (Again):
I read a great article the other day about the NFL CBA situation as it relates specifically to Roger Goodell as the NFL Commissioner.  When I say great article, basically that means I agree with it, because I think I am always right.  Nevertheless, here is the link to Gene Wojciechowski's article.  Basically, his point is that his job is to lead his sport, not just to be a "mouthpiece" for the owners.  He should be one of the voices of reason in this debate, not someone who just continues to project the hardline stance of the owners.

But here is the main point that I want to make regarding Goodell and these negotiations.  This is the first time in his tenure as NFL Commish that he has actually had to negotiate.  This is a man who unilaterally makes league wide decisions year after year.  The NFL Personal Conduct Policy?  After Pac Man Jones' run in with the law at a strip club Mr. Goodell decided the NFL needed a Personal Conduct Policy and retroactively applied it to Pac Man Jones and suspended him for an entire year.  For what?  Going to a strip club, tossing dollar bills in the air, and then being present while a fight broke out.  Ok, pretty dumb behavior, but it is very rare for players to get a one year suspension.  You only get 4 games for a steroid violation.  Then this season he set out to "reinforce" the league's policy on illegal hits.  From Wikipedia: "On October 19th, 2010, the NFL handed out fines to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Falcons Cornerback Dunta Robinson, and New England Patriots Safety Brandon Meriweather after they were involved in controversial hits the previous Sunday."  Once again, he unilaterally decided something needed to be done for the good of the game.  That is his right as the caretaker of the game.  Yet apparently he doesn't consider having a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players & owners as something "good for the game."  He would rather hold on to a stance that the owners have taken that their business model is broken, and they need concessions from the players to fix it.  Nevermind that they don't want to provide any detailed financial information to back it up. 


Imagine your job coming to you and telling you that things are tough and that you need to take a 25 percent pay cut after they previously gave you a record raise 4 years ago.  By all accounts you are working for a supremely successful business.  One that dominates its industry across the country and collectively keeps putting up record numbers year after year.  But concerns about further development of franchise locations & a few huge payments that have been made to employees who turned out to be not ready for their jobs have caused the management to threaten cost cutting measures across your company.  I have a feeling that you wouldn't be that thrilled about it, and if you could band together as a union of employees and have legal representation to make sure that your side was heard and a fair agreement could be reached, that you would.  


And as I heard a caller into a nighttime sports radio show say the other day, no one cares about the owners.  The American public is enamored with football games, which are played by the PLAYERS on the gridiron.