bigfundamental21
01-03-2008, 12:42 AM
Don't know if anyone has posted this, but this is Jeff Brody's Blog on New Year's Resolutions. He has a few ideas on resolutions for the NBA. Check it out:
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html
My New Year's Resolutions
by Jeff Brody (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html#bio) | December 28, 2007
Happy New Year, Spurs fans! As the proverbial basketball of life finishes its last dribble of the year, here's hoping 2008 will be your best year ever (in other words: another NBA championship for your Silver and Black!). So go ahead, get your party on. And as you're sitting there reading this blog -- alone again at the bar, naturally -- order yourself another round on me. In theory. Of course, if you actually send me a bill, I'll disavow all knowledge.
Anyway, like I was saying, it's New Year's. This is the time of year many people make resolutions. You know, things you want to change about yourself in the coming year. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds (yes, I do think it's OK to consider 40 "a few"). Or maybe this will be the year you finally move out of your mom's house. Whatever the case, we're all thinking about change. So this week I dedicate my New Year's resolutions to the top five things I would like to change about the NBA…
http://www.nba.com/media/spurs/brody_blog_071228.jpg
Flopping to the tune of Y-M-C-A.
#5: Drop the flop -- I'm not going to name names, but too many players get away with "selling" foul calls by flailing their limbs wildly or throwing themselves across the floor as if they've been run over by a Mack truck. Unless you've actually been run over by the 300-lb. Diesel, I say cut it out. There's a difference between acting and competing in the sport of basketball.
#4: Quit whining already -- I'm tired of seeing each and every player argue with the officials about each and every foul. "What, who ME?!? That was ALL BALL, man! I didn't TOUCH him. In fact, I've never fouled anyone, EVER!" If nothing else, it sets a bad example for kids who look up to pro athletes as role models. Last season, the NBA instituted a new "no tolerance" rule which allowed referees to call technical fouls when players complained too vehemently. After a flurry or early-season techs, critics claimed the rule was "unfair because it takes passion out of the game," and officials backed off their calls. I say enforce the rule and allow only head coaches and one designated captain per team to discuss calls with officials.
#3: Ditch the defensive three-seconds -- Preventing teams from camping out in the lane was supposed to make it easier for offenses to score…thereby creating faster-paced, more exciting games…thereby putting more butts in seats. But I say the rule has had the reverse effect by breaking up the flow of the game. If refs really wanted to enforce the rule, they could call it on nearly every possession. In addition, as Pistons coach Flip Saunders said, "Referees can't count on both hands. So what happens is, when they start calling defensive three seconds, they stop calling offensive three seconds."
#2: Erase the semi-circle -- The so-called "restricted area" is supposed to help distinguish between a blocking foul and a charge. But I say a charge is a charge, wherever it happens on the court. Whether a player has half his heel touching this 4-foot arc under the basket shouldn't determine which way a foul is called.
#1: Dump the jump ball -- Except for the opening tip, there's no reason to line everyone up and attempt to do the impossible: which is, to have a pint-sized point guard defy all odds by jumping over a seven-footer to regain possession of the ball. Half the time, officials call a violation for jumping too soon and "stealing" the tip, and the other half the poor ref in the middle can't toss a straight ball to save his life. You've got guys jockeying every which way around the circle, pulling and grabbing, stepping on each other's feet to get an advantage. I say, do what the NCAA does: use the possession arrow. It's fair, it's easy, and it becomes part of a game's strategy.
So there you have it, Spurs fans. Now tell me, what are your resolutions? But before you go, let's waste some more of my time…
Michael, from Mandan, North Dakota writes…
Eight months ago, my wife and I moved to Mandan, ND. It's really a bad deal, because we cannot watch the Spurs on local TV. So far, we have only seen ONE game! I cannot really complain, because we came up here to help with my mother. She turned 90 years old last January. She is a Spurs fan too! (By the WAY)
Well at least we can say - GO SPURS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael,
God bless you and your mother for being Spurs fans up there where the sun don't shine!
----------------------------------------------
Mateo from San Antonio, TX writes…
Que paso Jeff?! I am a Tim Duncan fanatic and along with all the other Spurs fans and I understand how great a player Tim Duncan is. It's not necessarily his stats and such, but its the way he goes about himself. He doesn't scream when he dunks or talks trash if he pops a J in someone's face. You never see Duncan in the news about legal troubles and he's not tatted up from head to toe. He just goes about his buisness and plays ball. Tim Duncan is the definition of a class athlete and today's NBA is really lacking quality personalities like Duncan. Don't you agree??
Mateo,
Great point, and I couldn't have said it better myself. Tim Duncan will go down in history as one of the best ever to play the game. I think his lack of fanfare at times can cause some to take him for granted. One of my favorite Tim Duncan quotes, which perfectly sums up his approach to life and basketball, came when he was asked how he'd like to be remembered after he retires. Duncan told Stack Magazine "I hope (people) would describe me as someone who played hard, loved to play, and won a lot of games. That's the extent of it, nothing more."
Jeff Brody is a senior correspondent for spurs.com. He was the founding webmaster of spurs.com and served as the Spurs Director of Internet and New Media from 2000-2007, when he was a part of three NBA championships.
*Got a question or comment for the Brody Blog? Send it in! (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html#bio) | Archive: Nov. 07 (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog_0711.html)
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html
My New Year's Resolutions
by Jeff Brody (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html#bio) | December 28, 2007
Happy New Year, Spurs fans! As the proverbial basketball of life finishes its last dribble of the year, here's hoping 2008 will be your best year ever (in other words: another NBA championship for your Silver and Black!). So go ahead, get your party on. And as you're sitting there reading this blog -- alone again at the bar, naturally -- order yourself another round on me. In theory. Of course, if you actually send me a bill, I'll disavow all knowledge.
Anyway, like I was saying, it's New Year's. This is the time of year many people make resolutions. You know, things you want to change about yourself in the coming year. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds (yes, I do think it's OK to consider 40 "a few"). Or maybe this will be the year you finally move out of your mom's house. Whatever the case, we're all thinking about change. So this week I dedicate my New Year's resolutions to the top five things I would like to change about the NBA…
http://www.nba.com/media/spurs/brody_blog_071228.jpg
Flopping to the tune of Y-M-C-A.
#5: Drop the flop -- I'm not going to name names, but too many players get away with "selling" foul calls by flailing their limbs wildly or throwing themselves across the floor as if they've been run over by a Mack truck. Unless you've actually been run over by the 300-lb. Diesel, I say cut it out. There's a difference between acting and competing in the sport of basketball.
#4: Quit whining already -- I'm tired of seeing each and every player argue with the officials about each and every foul. "What, who ME?!? That was ALL BALL, man! I didn't TOUCH him. In fact, I've never fouled anyone, EVER!" If nothing else, it sets a bad example for kids who look up to pro athletes as role models. Last season, the NBA instituted a new "no tolerance" rule which allowed referees to call technical fouls when players complained too vehemently. After a flurry or early-season techs, critics claimed the rule was "unfair because it takes passion out of the game," and officials backed off their calls. I say enforce the rule and allow only head coaches and one designated captain per team to discuss calls with officials.
#3: Ditch the defensive three-seconds -- Preventing teams from camping out in the lane was supposed to make it easier for offenses to score…thereby creating faster-paced, more exciting games…thereby putting more butts in seats. But I say the rule has had the reverse effect by breaking up the flow of the game. If refs really wanted to enforce the rule, they could call it on nearly every possession. In addition, as Pistons coach Flip Saunders said, "Referees can't count on both hands. So what happens is, when they start calling defensive three seconds, they stop calling offensive three seconds."
#2: Erase the semi-circle -- The so-called "restricted area" is supposed to help distinguish between a blocking foul and a charge. But I say a charge is a charge, wherever it happens on the court. Whether a player has half his heel touching this 4-foot arc under the basket shouldn't determine which way a foul is called.
#1: Dump the jump ball -- Except for the opening tip, there's no reason to line everyone up and attempt to do the impossible: which is, to have a pint-sized point guard defy all odds by jumping over a seven-footer to regain possession of the ball. Half the time, officials call a violation for jumping too soon and "stealing" the tip, and the other half the poor ref in the middle can't toss a straight ball to save his life. You've got guys jockeying every which way around the circle, pulling and grabbing, stepping on each other's feet to get an advantage. I say, do what the NCAA does: use the possession arrow. It's fair, it's easy, and it becomes part of a game's strategy.
So there you have it, Spurs fans. Now tell me, what are your resolutions? But before you go, let's waste some more of my time…
Michael, from Mandan, North Dakota writes…
Eight months ago, my wife and I moved to Mandan, ND. It's really a bad deal, because we cannot watch the Spurs on local TV. So far, we have only seen ONE game! I cannot really complain, because we came up here to help with my mother. She turned 90 years old last January. She is a Spurs fan too! (By the WAY)
Well at least we can say - GO SPURS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael,
God bless you and your mother for being Spurs fans up there where the sun don't shine!
----------------------------------------------
Mateo from San Antonio, TX writes…
Que paso Jeff?! I am a Tim Duncan fanatic and along with all the other Spurs fans and I understand how great a player Tim Duncan is. It's not necessarily his stats and such, but its the way he goes about himself. He doesn't scream when he dunks or talks trash if he pops a J in someone's face. You never see Duncan in the news about legal troubles and he's not tatted up from head to toe. He just goes about his buisness and plays ball. Tim Duncan is the definition of a class athlete and today's NBA is really lacking quality personalities like Duncan. Don't you agree??
Mateo,
Great point, and I couldn't have said it better myself. Tim Duncan will go down in history as one of the best ever to play the game. I think his lack of fanfare at times can cause some to take him for granted. One of my favorite Tim Duncan quotes, which perfectly sums up his approach to life and basketball, came when he was asked how he'd like to be remembered after he retires. Duncan told Stack Magazine "I hope (people) would describe me as someone who played hard, loved to play, and won a lot of games. That's the extent of it, nothing more."
Jeff Brody is a senior correspondent for spurs.com. He was the founding webmaster of spurs.com and served as the Spurs Director of Internet and New Media from 2000-2007, when he was a part of three NBA championships.
*Got a question or comment for the Brody Blog? Send it in! (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog.html#bio) | Archive: Nov. 07 (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/brodyblog_0711.html)