The Double Whammy

You probably do not know who Dave Zirin is. However, I have blogged about him before after he made one of the stupidest predictions I have ever heard... or, if you listen to him, he would probably say that he was just reporting was his "sources" were telling him. He was full of shit then and he is still full of shit.

So what am I talking about?

Well, he was a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show last night talking about the LeBron James decision to join the Miami Heat.

Here is a excerpt of what he had to say:

You're gonna look at the Miami Heat this fall and you're going to see the future of the NBA. Three superstars who are lorded over and then a bunch of players who are extras who make the league minimum and, you know what? Basketball is the ultimate team game, this is not how you win championships.

Hmmmm... first of all, who knew that the league has enough superstars so that every team will have three of them?!? Regardless, do you know what else came across the ESPN ticker later that very same night:

Mike Miller to sign with Miami Heat for 5yr/$30m.

and this:

Travis Outlaw agrees to terms with New Jersey Nets for 5yr/$35m

If you know who Travis Outlaw is... congrats you're an NBA fan. You also know he is not all that good (he's been in the league 7 seasons and has 32 career starts. That means he has started less games in his career than Derek Anderson.).

Chris Hayes (also from The Nation) was filling in for Rachel Maddow. He swallowed Zirin's bullshit whole and regurgitated it right back to him with this analysis:

So you have this situation where the Miami Heat and NBA basketball will be reinscribing the political economy of the U.S. The vanishing basketball middle class. And you have this sort of superstar economy with a few very, very well compensated tended players and the rest. This is the stake through solidarity.

Dave Zirin's reponse: "Exactly."

Ummm... is now a good time to mention that Brendan Haywood signed this week for 6yr/$55m? Is it okay if I point out that he is 30 years old and has career averages of 7.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game?

So, note to MSNBC: if you're going to talk about sports... please call upon someone who actually knows what he is talking about! (Hint: my shift supervisor at Applebee's is willing to give me time off for television appearances. Even on basic cable!)

* By the way, the "double whammy" referenced in the title of this post refers to going with both the "Stupid" AND "I Call Bullshit" tags. Congrats Zirin... you are indeed a pioneer!