The NBA travesty
December 11, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Even if Robert Griffin III’s Heisman Trophy and Superman socks, Floyd Landis’s Ryan Braun’s positive PED test, the Xavier/Cincinnati brawl, and yet another Tim Tebow comeback win all happened this weekend, the NBA’s Chris Paul trade/non-trade fiasco remains the biggest sports story of the past few days.
Chris Paul in 2009 at his basketball camp–all smiles. (Photo courtesy of Tulane Public Relations)
Basketball reasons–that’s what justified NBA commissioner David Stern stepping in and canceling a three-team trade that, for a few hours at least, had netted the Lakers a second superstar in point guard Chris Paul. When the trade was first announced on Dec. 8, my first reaction was along the lines of ‘here we go again…’ A lockout that was supposed to cure the NBA of precisely these types of trades and power struggles had been rendered precisely useless.
Then, Stern nixed the trade, and it turned out that the lockout hadn’t been useless: by vetoing this deal, Stern brought the NBA to an even more dubious place than even the five-month lockout could. « Read the rest of this entry »
Little brother is growing up
October 12, 2011 § Leave a Comment
DISCLAIMER: Once upon a time this semester, I wrote this 1,000-word feature on Andrew Wiggins for a class at the Ryerson School of Journalism. After multiple unsuccessful attempts at being published, this story found a home on this blog. Please note that this version is the second and final draft and was left untouched other than for a few corrections suggested by the professor who also doubles as a fairly celebrated feature writer. All photos included here are courtesy of the good folks at Northpolehoops.
Wiggins after capturing OFSAA gold with Vaughan Voyageurs
Tonight, a Wednesday evening in March 2011, the crowd gathered at Kerr Hall Gymnasium looks atypical for Ryerson University home games. Teenagers, most of them current or former basketball players, watch the action with relatives. Even the Ryerson men’s basketball team is cheering like everyone else. The Rams usually compete on the hardwood, but not tonight. One game remains in the second annual Battle of the Boards, which means that at about 8 p.m. Andrew Wiggins will take the court. “You’ll see that he’s incredible!” boast many people in the crowd, among them the Rams players like forward Luke Staniscia. « Read the rest of this entry »
In the name of the Rose
April 15, 2011 § Leave a Comment
The NBA will soon announce its 2011 Most Valuable Player, and if there’s any justice in this world the league will recognize the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose.
Derrick Rose during the 2010 offseason (Photo courtesy of adidasfansnet)
As it stands now, this is a two-man race between Rose and the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and technically, the body of work for each player is over; it ended on April 13 with the end of the regular season. Make no mistakes, the MVP award is a regular season award. « Read the rest of this entry »
