Jamal Crawford Is Tony Soprano

It became official Friday night in Milwaukee, The Atlanta Hawks are Jamal Crawford's team. The city of Atlanta is cool with that and the Atlanta Hawks are cool with that. This is reminiscent of when Tony had to take the reins from Junior Soprano. Even though Junior was the acting boss everyone knew it was really Tony that ran the organization. Same with Atlanta. Joe Johnson has become a figurehead, the face of the franchise but not the heart and soul. Jamal is the heart and soul. Where as Joe isn't showing loyalty to the organization, always threatening to leave if he doesn't get a bigger piece of the pie, Jamal put the Hawks on his back and said do your worst. The team turned to him in the clutch and they prevailed. If you notice no one was asking Joe Johnson before game 6 if he was feeling the pressure to win. Instead they were asking Jamal if he was going to come through for his team. He did. Jamal makes it easier for everyone to earn. The 206 personality helps create a harmonious locker room environment. He even comes off the bench so as not to step on any one's toes. Joe Johnson is moody and jealous. He pouts when he doesn't get enough attention but if he gets too much attention he wilts under the pressure of expectation. This has been coming. Jamal's been the silent leader for quite a while. This is just the first time he has had to publicly display it. Atlanta will be better off for it.

The Answer Is In Our Hearts

I remember watching Allen Iverson at Georgetown and wondering why the hell John Thompson let him do whatever he wanted on the basketball court. He took horrible shots, he turned the ball over, and he played very undisciplined. After watch ESPN's 30 for 30 series The Trial of Alen Iverson it all made sense. As a young man Allen Iverson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his alleged role in a fight at a bowling alley. Had it not been for the support of his community and divine intervention (a pardon from a sympathetic governor on his way out of office) there would be no basketball career to speak of. What John Thompson did was give him the freedom to find himself again. The 15 months her served behind bars stifled his growth and destroyed his confidence. He got that back at Georgetown and became the #1 pick in the NBA draft. After all he's been through it's easy to see why he doesn't trust people and why he's always true to himself. Nothing was given to him and everything was taken away in the blink of an eye. He lives everyday like it's his last and plays every game like it's his last. Over the year Allen Iverson has been labeled a problem child, a selfish player, and a coaches nightmare yet he's been voted to 11 allstar teams and one as recent as this season when he played virtually no games. Why do we love this little guy so much? Here's the 3 reasons we root for Allen Iverson:

1. Individual performances. Allen Iverson will take on ANYBODY! ABSOLUTELY ANYBODY! His heart is 2 times bigger than everyone else. We saw this in the 2001 NBA finals where he went for 47 and beat the unbeatable Lakers. And of course who could forget when he crossed over King Jordan then dropped the J on him. That was a career defining moment. It was almost as if he was saying, " Sorry Mike, even you can't hold me."

2. We see the potential. The reason his community fought so hard on his behalf is they knew what he could become. At his best Allen Iverson is the MVP of the league telling kids to stay out of trouble and winning scoring titles. At his worst he won't go to practice and doesn't talk to his coach. We cross our fingers hoping for The Answer and not the problem.

3. Memories last long. When you watch a player you admire you never want their career to end. With Allen you remember all the crossovers, all the battles, and all the excitement that comes with rooting for the underdog. He's simply done things he shouldn't have been able to do.

Allen Iverson is the uninvited guest that becomes the life of the party. Too bad it's 5:30 in the morning and probably time for Allen to go home. It was a great bash though.

Women Are Ruining Sports Part 2

As for Chili, I have to admit she was always my favorite of the TLC trio and I found it quite amusing to hear her checklist to perfection. Just to recap she needs a man who doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't eat pork, has a 6 pack washboard stomach, no more than 2 babies mamas, believes in god, and is well endowed. It's a list only a diva could come up with as a realistic expectation. Watching Chili set forth on the path to loneliness and heartbreak was all fun and games until she started messing with Floyd Mayweather Jr. At that point I realized she could potentially change the course of history. Floyd is 5 good fights away from stating his claim as the best ever. The last thing he needs is a neurotic headcase foiling the plan. I can just see Chili walking into Floyd's dressing room minutes before the Pacquiao fight dropping one of these bombs:

1. My cousin told me she saw you with Rihanna. It's over!
2. If you say you love me why don't we just get married right after the fight?
3. I slept with Usher last night. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.

It is complete and total selfishness on Chili's part to jeopardize a man's lifelong dream. She should keep her insecurities and unrealistic standards to herself. I got 2 words for you Floyd, Robin Givens. Run away while there's still time.

Women Are Ruining Sports Part 1

Last night I watched the show Basketball Wives followed by What Chili Wants and let me tell you it was a disturbing hour of television. Basketball Wives chronicles the lives of fiance's, wives, and ex-wives of NBA players. What Chili Wants follows the former TLC star in her pursuit of the perfect man. I'm frustrated with both programs, but lets start with the wives. Here's the problem I have with these women, YOU KNEW THE DEAL WHEN YOU MARRIED THESE OVERGROWN, SUPER RICH, EGOMANIACS! You want the lifestyle, but not the baggage that comes with it. You're dealing with men who have had millions of dollars since their early 20's and groupies since they were 13. They travel 9 months out of the year and are rarely home for more than a week at a time. How can you not expect them to be unfaithful under these circumstances? You were once on the outside looking in and you know what gold digging, greedy women are capable of. They know what to do and how to do it. As you sit in your mansions barking out orders to your servants getting ready for the Ludacris pool party how can you portray yourselves as victims? You chose to be with these players knowing how they are and what they're about then pretend to be disappointed and hurt when the outcome is infidelity, deceit, and embarrassment. Isn't it your fault for believing the fairytale? You can't have everything. Exorbitant amounts of money comes with a price. And as for Chili........

Bobby Cox: A decade of Winning

The Atlanta Braves won the NL East 10 years in a row and featured one of the best pitching staffs of all time under the management of Bobby Cox. Those are very impressive stats at first glance, but if you look deeper you uncover the true irony of the story. The Atlanta Braves were consistently good during Cox's tenure but never great. Despite all those division titles the Braves only won 1 world series in a strike shortened season. The Florida Marlins have won 2 in the same time frame. It's hard to fathom a team with 3 Cy Young pitchers unable to turn the corner and win more world series championships. Does that failure fall on the shoulders of the front office or Cox himself? In my opinion The Braves organization has always been willing to spend money to acquire the players they needed for the stretch run. If you have talent it is always the managers responsibility to get the best out of them. As Bobby Cox enters his final season as the Braves skipper we'll remember a lot of good times. It's just unfortunate they couldn't have won more titles under his watch to solidify his legacy. As it stands he's 1 ring shy of Cooperstown.