I have been a faithful viewer of Jim Rome is Burning for quite some time. For the most part, the guests on The Panel aren't all that intelligent. There are a couple notable exceptions (Ray Ratto! and Matt "Money" Smith) but most of them are nitwits like Jeff Chadiha.
I used to think Terence Moore - former writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the standard bearer for stupidity on that show but, this week, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated has upped the ante.
Let me state my case:
Example One:
Jim Rome asks who wins the NFC East?
Mannix Answers: I like the Giants... outside of Aaron Rodgers, I think (Eli Manning) might be the best quarterback in the entire NFL.
WHAT!?!?!!? I was like Barbara Walters when Herman Cain said he wanted to lead the Department of Defense! That is absolutely insane. Has he heard of Tom Brady? Drew Brees? Ben Roethlisberger? As of this writing date, all three have a better QB rating than Eli Manning this season - let alone the better all around resume (and obviously better team records with each of their teams being 10-3 compared to the 7-6 Giants).
I was wondering if such a statement blew up the twittersphere?
EXAMPLE TWO:
Jim Rome asks Does the punishment (the suspension of James Harrison) fit the crime?
Mannix answers: I think it absolutely fits the crime and it's the right thing to do.
BULLSHIT!!! Sorry, that is pretty much all I can say for that one. He is entitled to his opinion... and he is wrong. Next.
EXAMPLE THREE:
Mannix predicts: DeAndre Jordan is probably going to average 13-14 points per game (in 2011-12).
Can I take the under on this? I might have some Chinese yuan I'd like to wager on that. In fact, Mannix himself predicted that Jordan was going to be another Tyson Chandler. Does he not realize that Chandler has been in the league for ten seasons, has averaged over 10 points per game twice with a career best of 11.8? Oh well, it's still a better prediction than the infamous prediction of Amy K. Nelson!
EXAMPLE FOUR:
Mannix says (regarding the Chris Paul trade): The Timberwolves pick is being viewed as manna from heaven - yet the Timberwolves got Rick Adelman, they got Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea, (and) Derrick Williams. They're going to be a bad team but they're not going to be so bad that it's a top 2-3 pick... you're going to end up in the 8-12 range.
We'll see. I wouldn't be surprised if they split the difference (end up in 4-6). I will watch this with interest though; Ricky Rubio is probably the Spanish Sebastian Telfair. I like Derrick Williams - but he is probably going take time to develop a la LaMarcus Alridge. Point is that the T-Wolves are still going to suck.
EXAMPLE FIVE:
Mannix claims: In the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, Chris Paul was by far and away the best point guard in the entire league.
Come on! The key phrase, in this case, is "far and away". I don't doubt that Chris Paul was the best point guard in the league in those two seasons, but it's completely revisionist history to claim he was "far and away" better than Deron Williams. I have some empirical evidence to present on this one: consider the 2008 U.S. Mens Olympic Basketball Team. Paul and Williams were both on that team. The minutes played per game in that tournament was Paul at 21.9 and Williams at 19.0. That hardly seems like the spread where one player far outclassed the other (in the eyes of the US coaches).
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