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).
Showing posts with label Ricky Rubio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricky Rubio. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Furriners Correction/Update
A couple days ago, I posted a, uh, post about Spain's loss to Serbia in the FIBA World Championships. In it, I said this:
That was actually incorrect. The loss actually did happen in the second round of the knockout round as Spain had beaten Greece in the first round. Fortunately, because the losers in the second round actually do play additional games to determine 5th through 8th place, we got another chance to witness the Spanish Pistol Pete Maravich, Ricky Rubio. Lucky us!
Today, Spain beat Slovenia 97-80. Spanish Pistol wowed us with 3 points (1-5 shooting), 4 assists, and 2 turnovers.
Did I say Spanish Pistol Pete? I meant Spanish Dan Dickau.
Today, Spain lost in the first round of knockout round of the World Championships.
That was actually incorrect. The loss actually did happen in the second round of the knockout round as Spain had beaten Greece in the first round. Fortunately, because the losers in the second round actually do play additional games to determine 5th through 8th place, we got another chance to witness the Spanish Pistol Pete Maravich, Ricky Rubio. Lucky us!
Today, Spain beat Slovenia 97-80. Spanish Pistol wowed us with 3 points (1-5 shooting), 4 assists, and 2 turnovers.
Did I say Spanish Pistol Pete? I meant Spanish Dan Dickau.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Ricky Rubio Is Awesome
Another one for the It's too early to say 'I called it' file... but I will acknowledge I am dying to do so.
I am referring to the play of Ricky Rubio in the ongoing FIBA World Championships.
Long before the Furriners blog existed... I had opinions. Many of them involved Derek Anderson. Some of them did not.
One of the opinions I expressed around the office was that I was extremely disappointed in what I saw of Ricky Rubio in the 2008 Olympics. We were told he was a new Pistol Pete/Steve Nash. And although I am too young to have ever seen Maravich play, I consider myself a Pistol Pete fan... so I was excited to see this kid. I was extraordinarily underwhelmed - but, of course, Rubio was a 17(!) year old playing in the Olympics against the likes of Chris Paul and Deron Williams - so I didn't want to be too dismissive of his talents.
Of course, now Rubio is all of 19 and I admit it's still too early to call him all hype with no substance - and not to bring up a 20+ year old take on Larry Bird by Dennis Rodman - but one can't help but wonder if Rubio would be such a big f'n deal if he were a black kid from Baltimore?
Today, Spain lost in the first round of knockout round of the World Championships. The rest of Spain's starting lineup are all very fair NBA players (& Marc Gasol has improved to the point where he has to be considered above-average for an NBA center). Here is the basic stat breakdown for the Spain starting five:
Juan Carlos Navarro - 27 pts, 5 ast
Jorge Garbajosa - 18 pts, 6 reb
Rudy Fernandez - 15 pts, 5 reb
Marc Gasol - 13 pts (6-7 fg), 5 reb, 3 blk
Ricky Rubio - 3 pts, 3 ast, 3 to
What's the word for the Rubio performance? Underwhelming... yeah, that is it.
And, for the record, this is from the Sports Guy 2009 Draft Day Diary:
5:03: ... An orgasmic Fraschilla says Rubio is "the best passer in the last decade of drafts" and he's "got a Gretzky-like feel, he sees the game two and three plays ahead." Totally agree.
We'll see.
And I will say that I watched preliminary round coverage of the tournament and the same Fran Fraschilla was decidly non-orgasmic when saying that it was time for Rubio to start becoming a dominant player rather than just a vat of potential.
I am referring to the play of Ricky Rubio in the ongoing FIBA World Championships.
Long before the Furriners blog existed... I had opinions. Many of them involved Derek Anderson. Some of them did not.
One of the opinions I expressed around the office was that I was extremely disappointed in what I saw of Ricky Rubio in the 2008 Olympics. We were told he was a new Pistol Pete/Steve Nash. And although I am too young to have ever seen Maravich play, I consider myself a Pistol Pete fan... so I was excited to see this kid. I was extraordinarily underwhelmed - but, of course, Rubio was a 17(!) year old playing in the Olympics against the likes of Chris Paul and Deron Williams - so I didn't want to be too dismissive of his talents.
Of course, now Rubio is all of 19 and I admit it's still too early to call him all hype with no substance - and not to bring up a 20+ year old take on Larry Bird by Dennis Rodman - but one can't help but wonder if Rubio would be such a big f'n deal if he were a black kid from Baltimore?
Today, Spain lost in the first round of knockout round of the World Championships. The rest of Spain's starting lineup are all very fair NBA players (& Marc Gasol has improved to the point where he has to be considered above-average for an NBA center). Here is the basic stat breakdown for the Spain starting five:
Juan Carlos Navarro - 27 pts, 5 ast
Jorge Garbajosa - 18 pts, 6 reb
Rudy Fernandez - 15 pts, 5 reb
Marc Gasol - 13 pts (6-7 fg), 5 reb, 3 blk
Ricky Rubio - 3 pts, 3 ast, 3 to
What's the word for the Rubio performance? Underwhelming... yeah, that is it.
And, for the record, this is from the Sports Guy 2009 Draft Day Diary:
5:03: ... An orgasmic Fraschilla says Rubio is "the best passer in the last decade of drafts" and he's "got a Gretzky-like feel, he sees the game two and three plays ahead." Totally agree.
We'll see.
And I will say that I watched preliminary round coverage of the tournament and the same Fran Fraschilla was decidly non-orgasmic when saying that it was time for Rubio to start becoming a dominant player rather than just a vat of potential.
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