You Down With MVPs? Yea, You Know Me

Did anybody see the Pro-Bowl?? Nope? Yea… well, neither did I. Who cares, amiright? Watching a bunch of athletes give it 70% isn’t really the best option available for television. I’ll give it to the NFL, they’ve climbed to alpha-male in regards to sports entertainment, but that comes with the cost of having a depleted “All-Star Game” every year that becomes more and more of a joke to the players and fans. Some players drop out, others just don’t show, and every staff member on the coaching team bites his nails anxiously while they watch. There’s too much money on the line, they say, to have players want to participate with the threat of injury looming.

Well, why isn’t it like that for other sports then? How come other sports host their celebratory “thank-you” game during the regular season? They expect players to get right back up with their regular schedules and keep rolling. Hell, in soccer, players who compete in the Premier League typically compete in a European and international tournament at the same time. There’s probably more, too, but I just don’t know soccer like that. And I know what you’re thinking : “Football ain’t like soccer, hoss.” Yea, I know, but you got any better ideas for how to make it more interesting?

So, with 99% of the players going 70% at the Pro-Bowl, it makes sense that the player that normally goes 70% comes out as the MVP by giving it 100%.

Brandon Marshall caught 4 touchdown passes for 176 yards in Hawaii. That’s two-thirds of his entire 2011 season in one game! Marshall is the king of underachieving in my eyes and his success at the Pro-Bowl may just solidify that for me. While other players were Tweeting their feelings of laziness through computer’s the NFL set up on the sidelines (that’s not a joke), Brandon Marshall was laying it all out on the line. Maybe he just treated this game like every other game and the lackadaisical approach from all the other players is what made him shine so bright. He’s a born underachiever, so I guess in a pool of underachievers, the man is a God. That one catch he made after the defender tipped it was pretty sick, though.

Instead of watching half-assed football, I watched whole-ass basketball. Heat vs. Bulls. Pretty awesome game. Two things are clear to me :

1) The Heat, when they feel like it, are the best team in basketball. The video (which you can see below) is Lebron James dunking over John Lucas III, who happens to be almost 6ft tall. He looks short compared to other basketball players, but he reeeeeaaaally looks short when Lebron James is flying over him. Tough luck, Lucas. You gon’ see that one for a while. I guess Jrue Holiday rebounded from his “Dwight Howard embarassment” from last year pretty quickly though. It’s not just the dunks for the Heat, either. All that criticism of their bench depth before the 2010-2011 season doesn’t hold much merit now. In fact, I think that for Pat Riley grabbing 3 “superstars”, the bench that they have now will do just fine. Except Shane Battier, that dude sucks now.

2) Derrick Rose is never going to win a championship. Bold statement, huh? He’s such an incredible athlete, and that’s a shame, but I just don’t see the Bulls having what it takes to get a championship. Last year’s playoffs made it evident. Derrick Rose, a perfect 28 for 28 at the free throw line this season, misses back-to-back free throws with ~20 seconds left to put the Bulls in front and take the lead. That’s some Iguodala shit right there. Now, I’m not saying he’s not clutch, because that’s about all he is. I think that’s more divine intervention right there. Everybody is telling me wait to Luol Deng to come back. I will, but I still see the Heat in the Finals this year.

The Sixers are 0 for 2 when I write about them, and they play tonight, so I’m not going to say anything. Shit… did I just write about them? Ah well, expect a loss tonight.

1 Comment

  • Randy i think part of the reason certain sports play harder in their all star game is because money in their contracts is guaranteed. And also there isn’t a home team advantage to winning it such as in baseball. In baseball contracts are guaranteed so if a player gets hurt in that game hes still gonna get paid. NFL player could end his career in that game and not get a cent. And again if i am correct baseball AL or NL gets home field advantage for world series win. Basketball and hockey i don’t really know how it works for tho. Just thought id throw that tid bit out tho

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