A (Derrick) Rose By Any Other Name *Is* Just As Sweet

I'm working on very little sleep but had a few things on my mind and needed to vent (I have the good fortune of needing to unwind and watch TV when I get home, no matter how late it is...), so here goes:

As we all suspected, the University of Memphis basketball player whom the NCAA is investigating about his involvement with some academic integrity issues (i.e., having someone else take the SAT in his stead and changing a high school grade from a D to a C) is none other than your now-NBA (Sprite? KIA? Quicken Loans? (not just yet)) Rookie of the Year, Derrick Rose. Of course they're interviewing everyone under the sun from the NCAA to students at Memphis to the NBA to discuss the potential impact of this. I just heard a lawyer explain why all of his endorsers are watching this closely and yada yada yada. I don't have the time to get into this like I'd like to so I may need to revisit, but needless to say if you've been here before, I find this all to be a bit ridiculous. Rose actually seems reasonably intelligent and learned, but even given that, let's be honest: did Memphis really recruit him for his academic prowess? Is he the only athlete who has ever had a grade changed? Sure, it's not a good thing to have someone take the SAT for you, and there should be punishment for that.

But that's not what this is about. I don't know if people truly understood the great lengths that the NCAA goes to pursue their goals of free labor and higher revenues. They have succeeded in convincing people that they have a genuine interest in the education of their athletes and that playing for nothing more than the "love of the game" (while the schools and the organization rake in millions of dollars every year) is sports at its most "pure." And, oh yeah, that "one and done" rule the NBA adopted? Well, one year of going to class and socialization is better than none, right? Two years would just be overkill.

When I was in law school, having played college sports myself, I considered filing a lawsuit on behalf of other NCAA student-athletes to get the organization to change its oppressive system but then I realized that I wasn't the first person who had tried nor would I be the last. Instead, I settled for writing a paper on the topic. And, thankfully for the NCAA, I'm not a big fan of litigation. Ha.

But the point remains the same: Everybody in and around basketball knows the deal. It's not that these kids are dumb, it's that people don't even want them to try for fear that they won't succeed and, therefore, won't be able to play. (Then we wonder why they have trouble trying to balance life as an adult...) How genuinely surprised would folks in the NCAA or NBA, or companies handing out these millions of endorsement dollars really be if it turned out that every single NBA star had received a grade they didn't deserve at some point in their scholastic careers? Considering that people representing each and every single one of these groups have been following these kids since they were in 7th and 8th grade, I'd have to say not many. No one can claim they were left in the dark, and in many cases, these same folks now crying foul (no pun intended) were the ones providing the "light." After all, the [insert name of basketball shoe/clothing company] guy who came to all of their high school games is the same guy who connects the kid with his college team, which team often leads him to his NBA agent, who leads the kid back to the shoe/clothing guy. Given all of this, I find it hard to believe that the NBA, NCAA and endorsers are banking on the fact that these kids are actually doing their own work; rather, I'd say they're banking on you and I not thinking about that.

Now, the NCAA wants to strip Memphis of the games they won (including their tournament run) if they find these allegations are true. But even if they take away the games from the "record books" (they must be kept in a library and not on the Internets), there will always be an asterisk there, not to mention that people have memories - they can't quite erase those.

So if the NCAA, the NBA (the "A" apparently used to stand for "academia"), and Rose's endorsers decide to distance themselves from him now that he (and more likely, if this is true, the others around him) allegedly had low academic integrity a few years ago (he is a pro now, last I checked), that's fine. As long as they don't mind being called on the hypocrisy.

I've got at least one more bone to pick this week. Stay tuned . . .

Title This One: "And Sometimes She Blogs, Too"

So many of my convos involve sports these days, I am starting to believe that it's just a more enjoyable forum to do what I like to do most: analyze things. Here are a few things I've been talking about:

1. Kudos to those of you who correctly guessed - on the blog and off - Ray Allen, aka Jesus Shuttlesworth, as the "smart guy" in Saturday's Quickie. I wrote the Quickie after finally seeing his PSA with his wife and son who has diabetes about the JDRF, which I thought might help you all figure out who I was talking about, but what do I know. If you read the blog, you know that I don't often support "hype" but trust me when I say this guy is the real deal . . . and rare. First Kevin Garnett, then Ray Allen. Who's next?

2. Carlos Boozer just said he would like to be a Utah Jazz next season. HA. I will believe it when I see it. It's funny because people had him going to the Pistons when they seemed like a title contender but now that they've effectively blown themselves up, he probably feels he's a lot closer to winning in Utah than he is to winning one in Detroit. I can't say I blame him since he isn't getting any younger and the Pistons are at least a few years away from a championship . . . yet I'm not certain Jerry Sloan can get over the "always a bridesmaid" hump with Utah, but some people feel better about at least coming close even if they never win. Not me. When my team gets to the finals and loses repeatedly, it's bad for my blood pressure, and it just plain sucks. I don't know how Portland Trailblazers fans did it back in the day. If they just stink, then at least I know what I'm getting. I can't be alone in this . . .

3. Unless you're a sports writer/reporter, a prospective player (or a member of said prospective player's massive entourage . . . ) - basically, employed in some way by the NFL either indirectly or directly, the NFL draft is somewhat of a snooze fest. How anyone can retain interest in watching 240 guys get picked is beyond me. Most people I know don't watch past the first 10 to 15 picks, and only listen out for their own teams picks. I mean, there are so many people to choose from, let's just admit this is sort of a random crapshoot after the first round or so, eh? Or admit that the way the players in the later rounds are picked is based on some criteria like, say, "finished 2nd in the 40 behind the guy who tested positive for weed during the combine." And these late picks may well be the guys who mean the most to the team in the long run. I think any GM who continually makes successful picks in the draft deserves a bonus just for that.

4. Derrick Rose! Show them why you were #1! I'm happy to see him rising to the occasion in his first playoff series, especially after the way he and Memphis let the championship slip from their grasp in the '08 NCAA final. Perhaps that was just a freshman mistake . . . only time will tell.

5. They're still showing Michael Vick's rescued dogs in segments on national news shows. The one I just watched (no idea what channel it was) featured a woman who was taking her Vick rescued dog to a trainer to help with its behavioral problems. And while this is still ongoing, she's bringing the dog around her small children. The interviewer asked her about this and she indicated that she wasn't concerned because of all the love and attention the dog was now receiving. Well, here's an anecdote for her: Recently, I was running out the door and left some chicken out on my stove in an aluminum tray. When I returned home, I discovered that my small-ish dog somehow managed to jump up on the stove, knock the tray down, and eat all of the chicken and most of the aluminum foil that was underneath it . . . all of which she managed to expel over the course of the next twelve hours. This is only the second time this has happened in the time I've had her, the first being nearly four years ago when she and her partner in crime jacked a Christmas ham. The moral of the story is this: dogs will be dogs so watch your back. . . and at least wait for the dog to complete the training before you loose it on your kids. I'm certain she wouldn't have allowed it around her kids if we were talking about a human who was trained to only kill people . . .

Running Back

So I've had quite a last few months, hence the lack of posts. I responded to a comment on my Plax post so check it out and jump in the conversation if you feel so inclined.

I have a few moments so I thought I'd do a little running on some random ruminations:



1) Joey Porter came to the defense of Plaxico Burress. During an interview that's set to appear on ESPN tomorrow (but I found it for you), Porter says that carrying a gun is essential as an NFL player, and when asked whether he carried a gun, he stumbled a bit over the answer but he admitted that he did, and that his interviewer should, too, if he cares about his family. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's take on it? He says (I'm paraphrasing) that if you're in a place where a gun is necessary, then you should leave that place. Hmm . . . so does that count for what happened to Sean Taylor? I might need to do a separate post on this, but I think his statement's a tad ignorant, in the truest sense of the word. I guarantee the same people coming after Goodell aren't coming after Porter and Burress.

2) This Stephen Curry kid (how the heck do you pronounce his name, really? Found it: STEFF-in) is just about the sweetest looking basketball player I've ever seen. By sweet, I mean like nice and sweet - not "sweet," but he is that, too. (And not that kind of sweet). He doesn't even look like he's trying and then he just launches these shots from out of nowhere. I always wonder about guys who are wildly popular in college (i.e., J.J. Redick) and whether translate into NBA success (no). It's a possibility but for some reason, I can't picture him in an NBA uniform. I think it's the face.

3) Going back to the NFL for a moment - I'd heard that sports probably wouldn't be safe during this recession. Now, the NFL is laying off 150 folks. What, not enough fines this year to keep your people employed? The "funny" part is that the layoffs are due to an anticipated downturn in ticket sales for next season. I'm all for forecasting and all that jazz but I think this might be a little premature. Of course, I'll concede the NFL has tracked ticket sales in recessions and might know more than I do . . . but a lot can happen in a year. It's almost Christmas! And we thought NFL = "not for long" referred to just the players.

4) I missed the Oscar De La Hoya fight (he fought alleged marquee boxer Manny Pacquiao . . . I concede the boy is good. Happy?) on Saturday night but from all accounts, that should really have been the Golden Boy's swan song. I caught a little bit of the bout and he looked pretty slow and tired out there. Although he rallied against Floyd Mayweather last year, he clearly has lost the goods that warranted him even a decision in the Felix Trinidad fight (wow, that was nine years ago - I remember where I was when I watched it). Now, he's just messing with his legacy. I know he'll miss the money, but he's still a young man, and I think still pretty enough to sell more than just grills and get paid handsomely (no pun intended) for doing so.

5) I'm cheating, I know, this isn't a story, but I missed MYSM, so I'm sharing. The move or the commentating - I'm not sure what's better. Please, Derrick, don't hurt 'em!