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Why was this guy fired by ESPN again?
Just like Darkwaters I looked and didn't see this article posted. If it is sorry I missed it.
http://sports.aol.com/whitlock/_a/if...17102409990001
If Spurs Roll On, Suns Have Themselves to Blame
Key Suspensions a Result of Lack of Control by Phoenix
By JASON WHITLOCK
AOL
Sports Commentary
If the Suns lose this series, let’s don’t blame David Stern and Stu Jackson for following the rules. If the Suns lose this series, don’t look at it as an excuse to change the rule prohibiting players from leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.
If the Suns lose their best-of-seven series to the Spurs, let’s point the finger where it belongs -- at Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw and Mike D’Antoni.
I’m not some law-and-order right-wing nutjob. I don’t believe in mandatory-minimum sentences. The lack of parole in federal penitentiaries is an atrocity. I’m all for using common sense and judging each situation on a case-by-case basis.
But I can also recognize a good rule/law when I see one.
A hardline, zero-tolerance policy on players leaving the bench area during any sort of altercation is an appropriate, fair rule. It doesn’t need a gray area. The league has justifiably adopted a tough policy on fighting and the escalation of fighting. It’s a business decision, a good one. It’s no different from the rule that states you can’t step out of bounds when dribbling the basketball. If the ref sees it, he blows the whistle and it’s a turnover. It’s not a subjective rule. There’s no reason to act like the players are incapable of controlling themselves. They are. The Spurs didn’t react, and most of the Suns did exactly what they were supposed to do when Horry bumped Nash.
And all the whining and crying about how Stoudemire’s and Diaw’s one-game suspensions would ruin the Suns-Spurs series seemed pretty damn silly Wednesday night when the Suns were in control of Game 5 with five minutes to play.
The suspensions did not destroy the NBA’s best playoff series. To the contrary, the suspensions enhanced the game’s best series. I haven’t watched an NBA playoff game that intensely and rooted that hard for a team (the Suns) since Reggie Miller dropped 25 fourth-quarter points on e Lee and the Knicks in 1994.
The Suns were a wounded underdog. I tuned in expecting to see a bit of that great drama that TNT is known for capturing, and I wasn’t disappointed.
I knew the Suns and their crowd would be dangerous. Phoenix fans and players had a right to feel wronged. Robert Horry cheap-shotted Phoenix’s best player in the final moments of Game 4 and sparked Diaw and Stoudemire into losing their composure for a split second. That instantaneous, malice-less reaction cost the Suns two of its four best players for one game.
Man, that seems unfair. But as Shaq said Tuesday night during a brilliant performance on TNT’s studio show with Ernie, Kenny and Sir Charles, "life is unfair."
What was enlightening was watching Phoenix’s reaction to life’s unfairness. Rather than playing the victim, the Suns and their fans used an us-against-the-world-mentality to play well above their heads for a time.
Using a six-man playing rotation, the Suns controlled Wednesday’s contest. They should’ve won. I blame D’Antoni for the loss. He should’ve used a seven-man rotation.
The Suns simply ran out of energy the last three minutes. Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Raja Bell all played at least 45 minutes. All night I kept begging D’Antoni to play Jalen Rose for a few minutes.
The Suns led by as many as 16 points. Jalen Rose could’ve played eight to ten minutes Wednesday. I know Rose is old, 34. I know he’s not the player he once was. But the man averaged 12 points a game last season for the Knicks and Raptors. Two years ago he averaged 18.5 for the Raptors and played 81 games. Rose can play every position except center. He can steal minutes at the four and one.
Shawn Marion needed some rest. He fell apart after a terrific, 22-point first half. Nash needed rest, too. He never took a good shot in the final two minutes. Yes, maybe Rose is washed up. But the Suns needed him last night. With Diaw and Stoudemire out, Rose needed to touch the court.
You cannot beat the Spurs with six players and a bouncer, Pat Burke, who played three minutes.
If the Suns lose this series (and fail to win the championship), Diaw, Stoudemire and D’Antoni are the scapegoats. Not Stern, Jackson or a simple, easy-to-follow rule.
2007 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
2007-05-17 11:39:03
Why was this guy fired by ESPN again?
For stating the obvious?
Well written article, I fully agree with giving Jalen Rose some playing time in that game, I would have even given, little used, Marcus Banks 5 or so minutes to give the starters a break. IMO, what has made D'Antoni successful has been a willingness to stick with players who will bring the team success, but he does this to a fault, he constantly rides guys too damn long and has no trust in anyone else enough to give a guy an opportunity to step up. In closing, can everyone just drop all this whining, excuses, and "dirty" BS and just play the f-ing games. The players are grown men for God's sake. Hopefully this will be the last article I see mentioning blaming Stern for the suspensions, it's time for people to accept responsibility for their actions and quit whining and trying to place the game elsewhere.
Good point. We should write and complain to their Ombudsman about the lack of quali.... it, couldn't even get through that with a straight face.
As opposed to stating the patently idiotic, as most of their writers do now.
I'll take the obvious over hype-induced drivel.
Don't go blaming it on me now!
He called out Scoop Jackson as a poor writer who needlessly used race to try stir up controversy for his articles.
Ah, now MB's reply makes sense. Thanks!
That is even more pathetic than blaming Stern or the Spurs for the suspensions. Sports writers are really starting to piss me off.
No no I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I meant that my intention was the same as your good article. I hoped I hadn't double posted an article that was on another thread.Don't go blaming it on me now!
Your thread was a good read.
Sorry again about the misunderstanding!
The initial media reaction seemed to side with the suns and the rule being unfair and should and would be changed.
Now it seems there are more articles coming out stating the rule is not to blame and should not be changed.
It seems like quite a dramatic shift.
I think that's result of some writers just wanting to go against the tide and stand out. Any more pro-suns articles are just going to get lost in the wake at this point.
No matter how you slice it, you guys are gonna have to cirlce the wagons from now until next season.
I kept begging him to play Jalen Rose as well - at least Whitlock and I are in line on that point.
I still don't really buy the Nash embellishment argument as a cause because they were moving before he did that and Bell/Horry were gonna get into it regardless.
This is not Nam. This is basketball. There are rules.
This is a league game. This determines who enters the next round-robin, am I wrong?
Am I wrong!?
What a novel concept...that the Suns are responsible for their own destiny and not victims.
Usually Whitlock is a complete ass, I grew up reading him in the KC star and even in 5th grade he made me want to vomit
42-40: Golden State Warriors 2006-2007 Regular Season Record
all these stories coming out now.....with tails between the legs....every freakin media outlet was calling for SPURS heads now the realize it wasn't magic by horry that pulled them idiots outta there seats!
UNBELIEVABLE!
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