Understanding the Present

I apologize for such a delay between posts, the excuses: starting a research rotation, basking in completion of the first year of med school, getting caught in the dead air of the horse latitudes of American sports (thank god for the Euro Cup)

People are up in arms about this whole game fixing thing. Maybe they should be, but I and many other lovers of this game have enjoyed the league much more up through the first round of the playoffs for a long time, watching with declining interest as things advance. My perspective on the this is that of course refs play to bias, their own or that of the league office. If a player has been committing a certain infraction then it should be called after review (Especially this whole moving pick thing, first Yao and now it should be KG, dude waits for contact on the screen and then just moves right along with his man). The sad thing is that everyone was expecting a poorly officiated game in favor of the Lakers in game three before anything from Donaghy (sp?). It is refreshing, however, that the coaches and players are not in on it, this is the silver lining of the whole thing.

On to the game itself: I read somewhere an article decrying the lack of respect Thibideau and the Spurs assistant coach get when it comes to coaching vacancies. This is not due to some reverse affirmative action or the like, the simple reality is that these guys improve a teams D by teaching tactics that evade the eyes of the ref, Gasols heave over the backboard is only the most obvious example, but wrist grbbing and hip checking abound around the nominally best D in the NBA. This goes back to my previous post about Rasheed. These guys play to win, not to the glory of the game. Think Brazil in opposition to Italy, or perhaps (oh the pain) Iberian ball verse the Teutonic brand: there is a certain beauty in integrity that is hamstrung by the playoffs, the league and the most successful teams (at least of recent).

In other news, Kobe is playing some inspired basketball, but his insufferable temperament is rising by the game. On the other side PP was so close to sipping from the grail before reminding us why he has yet to assert himself into the pantheon, Jesus Shuttlesworth, similarly, saved his best for the worst, remarkably keeping the Celtics close in a losing effort. It’s the games when others are on that he needs to be on.

Bring on the Olympics and impartial refs!! (Is this what its come to?)