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Baseball: Reviving the Sport
Baseball: Reviving the Sport
What things are more American than baseball, red, white, and blue, and apple pie? Unfortunately, this revered sport has earned a rather tarnished image over the past years due to strikes, increasing ticket prices,...
Dark Ages: History of the Negro Leagues in America
The sport of baseball is often referred to as the "national pastime." For years it has played an important role in many people's lives, providing heroes and idols for millions of children and providing numerous memories of "spring eternal" for many...
Motivating Yourself For The Upcoming Marathons
If you've ever run a marathon, or even been a spectator, you'll
appreciate the motivation and commitment involved. If you're not
prepared when it comes to race day you can expect many hours of
suffering and struggle!
It doesn't have to be...
What Do Gladiators and the Weekend Warrior Have In Common?
Strip off the tie and grab your running shoes, golf clubs or baseball mitt! The weekend has arrived. You look forward to extra time on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy your favorite sport. And you probably cram in as much activity as possible before...
What is the Cost of Winning?
I have lived in Massachusetts on whole life. I grew up watching Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish. I watched the Red Sox lose the 86 World Series, and the Patriots lose 2 Super Bowls, before finally becoming a winning franchise. I...
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Saunders to the Pistons, Larry to the Knicks
What it means to these two teams
Well, the news of Larry Brown’s departure from Detroit and expected arrival in New York has finally come to pass. As expected, Flip Saunders, the embattled former Minnesota Timberwolves coach has now taken the help of a team that has reached the NBA Finals the last two seasons; winning it all in 2004.
First off, I already understand that Saunders in no Larry Brown; and that may be good news for the Piston’s organization and their players. The focus should be on the team and not on if the coach is flirting with other teams for head coaching jobs and/or front office positions. The center of attention should remain on the court, where this Pistons squad is proven winners. The core of this team is still very young and the window remains wide open for more championships.
If Brown were to remain in Detroit, General Manager Joe Dumars would more of less be admitting that this team can’t win without him. And in return, this team would spend the next season, and any thereafter with the gypsy coach at the helm, with the prospect of Brown always curious whenever one of the many NBA jobs open up for discussion.
Brown went as far to say about the Knicks opportunity that it was his “dream job
“. Well, by looking at the Knicks roster of returnees, this dream could turn into a bad one relatively quick. With Stephon Marbury running the show, the “I” remains permanently ensconced in this team. Good luck Larry, getting Marbury to buy into the “team consept” and playing defense. It has yet to be done by any coach ever to encounter a guy who still believes the ballgame revolves around him. And before anyone compares Marbury to Brown’s guidance of a young Allen Iverson, he’s not even in A.I.’s league; never will be.
Isaiah Thomas continues to mismanage the team and it’s finances, bringing in role players and expecting them to flourish in a town that will tell you exactly what they think of you if you’re not performing to those inflated expectations. Jerome James and
Quentin Richardson are not the answers to Isaiah’s frontcourt prayers. Channing Frye is a nice draft pick, but he won’t get the ball unless he rebounds it, as long as Marbury and Jamal Crawford are launching jump shots.
So right away, Flip Saunders inherits by far the superior team, with the better core of players. The job for Dumars is to keep the team intact. Despite his lack of success in the playoffs, Saunders has a reputation as being cool under fire after having T’Wolves GM Kevin McHale breathing down his neck the last few seasons. He is also a players coach, which will help in this situation, where he has a squad that gets along on and off the court and knows how to take care of business. He will also use young bench players like Darko Milivick and Jason Maxiell. Dumars because increasingly upset with Brown for stunting the development of the younger guys. Dumars does have an ego, and drafting Milivick over Carmelo Anthony has made him look silly.
Detroit’s players showed during the playoffs that they can ignore distractions and win tough series’; they are still the favorite to come out of the East despite Miami, Cleveland, and New Jersey adding pieces to their puzzles. This team will win 55 games in the regular season and be hungry to return to the finals.
With the Knicks roster issues, this year will be a wash, and they’ll look to unload some big money contracts so they can mold the team into their new coach’s image (defense and working for good shots). No doubt New York is a 2006-2007 playoff team, but a NBA Lotto participant this coming season. Unfortunately for Isaiah Thomas, Coach Brown gets antsy after a season or two, so this could turn into another rebuilding project for the man who succeeds Brown. Isaiah may not be around either to make that hiring.
By John Onan (Ego74)
About the Author
John Onan (aka ego74) is sports writer/moderator at the online players union www.theopu.com and football contributor at www.realfootball365.com
he can be reached at nay7201@mail.com
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