April
13, 2001 NBA
BASKETBALL EDITORIAL - - - - -
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AS
THE WORLD TURNS
By
MARSHON ROBINSON Contributor
*
The soap opera that is the NBA continues flowing
along,
but with the playoffs approaching one would
think
we'd start getting more news regarding the game
instead
of all the sideshows. However, our hopes are
in
vain. So now let's look at drama that's taken
over
our beloved league.
Kobe
and Shaq and Phil - nah, that one's too easy.
The
Return - The mere thought of it sends chills down
the
spine of every fan. Seeing him move and work his
magic.
Taking his team to new heights and setting the
bar
for those around him. And unlike some, I think he
could
swoop in and pick up right where he left off.
Yessirree,
if Barry Sanders comes out of retirement,
the
Lions will be a much better team. Oh, you thought
I
was referring to someone else? Surely you don't
believe
that other guy is coming back? Do you?
I
mean what's more plausible: (1) a man who left the game
as
the undisputed best ever will return from a long
hiatus
just to not get into the playoffs on a horrible
team
while getting beaten by guys (Iverson, Kobe,
Tracy,
Vince, etc.) who couldn't dream of guarding
him
in his prime or (2) one guy (Mike) who loves
seeing
his name in the paper and another group of
guys
(his coworkers: Wizards management/ownership)
are
simply building up hype to bring attention to a bad
team,
sell more tickets, and lure free agents (Finley
and/or
CWebb). Think about that for a minute or two
the
next time some giddy sports anchor tells you that
Mike
will return. Mike was a phenomenal player who
changed
the game, but until he at least says there' a
99.8
% chance he'll come back, let's hold off the
celebrating.
The
Fall - There was once a player who soared and
slammed
with so much power it seemed to shake the gym.
Now,
he has become another statistic, and it's sad
he'll
be remembered by this instead of his stellar
career.
Shawn Kemp has indeed fallen from grace and
let's
all hope he recovers from his addiction and leads
a
good life, off the court. This is much more
serious
than hoops and for the sake of his kids, Kemp
needs
to beat his habit and focus on getting
his
personal life on track.
To
Go or To Stay - An education is a good thing to
have.
So is a million dollars. Hence the problem
faced
by every prodigy considering going pro. One
thing
I don't like is how everyone blames the kids.
If
the NBA thinks they're too young, stop drafting
them
that early. Period. Make a league-wide rule. If the
NCAA
doesn't want the kids complaining about a lack of
funds,
give them a little something, or stop selling
their
jerseys and stuff. Will paying players give big
schools
an advantage? Whatever. They've already got
an
advantage and the playing field has never been and
never
will be equal anyway, so they should stop using
that
as an excuse. But neither side is going to do
anything
like that. So they should both stop
complaining
until they're ready to make the moves to
accomplish
what they say they want.
