The Throwdown in Motown

I have huge news about the blog coming in the next week or so. I’ve been working on stuff behind the scene. I will either announce the news on the blog, or a 60 minute special on ESPN.

As I’ve been busy with something new and cool, I thought that I would take a week off to cool down. With the news of the Indiana Pacers are getting their 33.5 million dollars of blood money to stay in town and Ron Artest won an NBA championship, I feel that the NBA has lost its credibility. I’d like to take you back to the moment that it happened. This is a repost from November 2005.

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Let me be the first to say it.  I told you so.

As a loyal Pacer fan, I had to justify what went wrong in the Eastern Conference Championship series against the Pistons last year, and two words came to mind.

Ron Artest.

His hard foul at the end of Game 6, as well as general bad play during the series, cost the Pacers a trip to the NBA finals to avenge their 2000 loss against the Lakers.  Sure, you could point to Jermaine O’Neal’s injury, or Reggie Miller not looking behind him to see if anyone was going to swat away his go ahead shot in Game 2 (the turning point of the series).  But, when push came to shove, Artest didn’t deliver.

The season ended, and the Pacers needed to make some bold moves to challenge the Pistons and the emerging behemoth in Miami.  The Pacers had 3 stellar power forwards, and questions inside.  I had said many times that the Pacers needed to do a sign and trade with the Golden State Warriors…Artest for Power Forward/Center Eric Dampier.  Easy enough, right.  You trade the team cancer, and keep Al Harrington, a young player that was thriving under the system off the bench.  However, Harrington publicly stated that he wanted more playing time, a cardinal sin in any Larry Bird team.  Al was sent packing for Atlanta.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Indiana gets in return Stephen Jackson…the ego maniacal shooting guard who won a ring with San Antonio in 1999, and sounded more like Michael Jackson than he did an NBA superstar.  He and Artest were sure to make fast friends.  It didn’t help Indiana’s inside game, but that’s what the draft was for.  Because I know when I think of guys that can take it to Shaq, I think of David Harrison. 

Jackson was brought in to be the heir apparent to the shooting guard post that would soon be left by an aging Reggie Miller.  It almost seemed that the Pacers’ brass forgot the job that backup Fred Jones did in the playoffs.  Fred Jones alone kept the Pacers alive during the road games in Auburn Hills in June.

So, what happens?  Harrington goes to the Hawks and averages over 20 points, while Jackson and Artest get suspended 102 games between them.

Good move, Indiana.

But I digress.  That was just a backdrop to the events Friday night in Detroit.  Fans were throwing cups of beer, and players were invading the stands as if they were looking for weapons of mass destruction, or as the people in Hollywood would say “Wackiness would ensue”.

Fast forward to tonight.  David Stern steps up and hands down his sentence.  Ron Artest, see you next year.  Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal, enjoy a long unpaid vacation.  Stern talked about the transgression as “unforgivable” and that he was “sending a clear message to the NBA”.

I mentioned earlier, I am a loyal Pacers fan.  I can honestly say that the punishment was fair, just, and swift.  In fact, I think that Stephen Jackson should have been suspended more.  Artest may have done the most damage, but he had a beer thrown at him…that’s provocation.  Jackson went up there just to go up there.

However, I think that there is one other suspension that needs to be levied.  It is my firm belief that the Detroit Pistons fans should be suspended for 10 games.  Let’s face it, this is not the first time Pistons fans have been involved in an incident of projectile beverages.  Boston forward M.L. Carr’s eyes were injured when a fan threw a beer in his face several years ago. 

For the next 10 games at The Palace, the Pistons should play in an empty arena.  In that time, the franchise can spend that time better figuring out the security issues they seem to have.  The Pistons should also be barred from serving alcohol for the rest of the season.

This punishment is common place in Europe for soccer hooligan fans that get just a little too rowdy.  In fact, a Swedish reporter asked Stern if this was possible during the press conference.  Stern dismissed it in that “sure, well look in to it” way that one gets when one makes a request at a radio station.

But I say to you, David Stern, you can send a clear message to the players and coaches that if team security can’t protect you, then the league will.  Sure, as a league, we’ll take the hit financially, but it’s worth it to make the game a family friendly environment.  Nobody can take part in a brawl if no one’s there, now can they?

But until then, I will watch my crippled Pacers slug their way through the next 30 games, and hope they make the playoffs.  And when I watch the highlights of Al Harrington in Atlanta, you know, actually playing.  I will only sit back, munch on my popcorn, and say, “I told you so.”

       

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Let’s Not Get Carried Away, Butler Fans

The other day, I saw someone wearing a Syracuse sweatshirt (It’s still a little cool here in Minnesota).

“I hate to tell you this,” I said. “I grew up down the road from Butler University.”

This isn’t exactly true, unless you consider a three hour drive to Evansville “down the road.” That’s how much I've been caught up in the recent “Butler Fever” that is sweeping the country. People are going nuts over the Bulldogs, and for good reason. For as many “fans” who buy Duke and Michigan State t-shirts, there are just as many people who love the underdog.

However, the ones who are getting carried away more than anyone is a small portion of Butler diehards who have made a variation of this comment in the Indianapolis Star.

“Butler has now surpassed IU as the best basketball program in the state of Indiana.”

*Deep breath. Sigh.*

So this is now my open letter to the few Butler fans who are, shall we say, a little over excited.

Dear Bulldog Extremists:

First off, congratulations on a truly extraordinary season. There is much to celebrate with your team’s success. As with many people who are from Indiana, we are hoping that you take care of Michigan State, and dispatch either Duke of West Virginia in the NCAA Championship game. You have come a long way from being the easy win for the University of Evansville back in their MCC days.

I know that some of you think that Butler is now the top program in Indiana. While it is true that Butler has certainly been the best team in Indiana in the last five years, it’s a long drive to be Indiana’s best.

Making the National Semis is a very impressive thing to do, and not many schools can make that claim. But remember, you’ve made one Final Four. So has Notre Dame. So has Purdue. Hell, even Indiana State did it. While it looks great on the résumé, it’s not the end all be all.

As a younger sibling, I know how important it is to step out of the shadow of a larger than life big brother. It’s true that the last time Indiana won the National Championship, none of the Butler players were born, and Coach Brad Stevens was in swaddling clothes. However, Indiana is one of only five schools to make the Final Four in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s (the others are Kansas, Duke, UNC and UCLA).

Indiana’s efforts to return to its former glory isn’t a rebuilding project, it’s major reconstruction. The Cream and Crimson will be down for the next couple of years, but they will be back.

A five to 10 year run doesn’t make a program. Ask Oklahoma. Ask DePaul. Ask Seton Hall. Glory can vanish in a heartbeat.

I don’t want to take anything away from the wonderful accomplishment that BU has earned, but let’s exercise a little perspective. It takes a long time to build a top flight program, and Butler just isn’t there yet. I hope that one day they are held with the same reverence as UK, Duke, Kansas, and UNC. Until then, enjoy the Final Four and hopefully a National Championship.

GO DOGS,

Ian Shane

See Ya On The Way Back Down

Also posted on the Indy Star blog Tales of a Hoosier Ex-Pat

The Kentucky Wildcats should be congratulated on their 90-73 victory over a tenacious Indiana University squad looking for their 5^th win. Kentucky and Indiana are two teams at different stages. Kentucky is playing at a championship level with the ability to make huge runs. They look a lot like the UNC team that took home the national championship in April, and is my early choice to run everyone they face out of the bracket this spring. They have a chance to make a run at Indiana's undefeated mark (unless my old friend Bruce Pearl has anything to say about it).

Indiana is in year two of Extreme Makeover: College Basketball Edition. It's not so much a rebuilding year, but more of a reconstruction effort so massive, it may qualify for stimulus money. The Hoosiers had some early missteps this year, including an embarrassing loss to my wife's alma mater, Boston University (which she has not let me forget). They did get a huge road win over Pitt earlier in the week. It's not like taking down UNC or Michigan State, but it's a win over a really good team. Indiana has a great freshman in Mo Creek (play on Mo Cheeks), and junior transfer Jeremiah Rivers plays with an energy level that the Hoosier Nation hasn't seen since a young A.J. Moye donned number 2. Plus, Indiana has the energetic young coach it's been looking for since they jettisoned Robert Montgomery Knight.

Next year, Indiana will contend for a Big Ten title. Next year, Kentucky may be under the microscope.

So this part of the post is to the Kentucky faithful. Look, I know that we haven't always gotten along. Actually we really don't like each other all that much, but I beg of you…boot John Calipari as soon as possible.

Please.

I know what you're thinking. I'm a bitter, jealous Indiana apologist who wants to taint the victory with unfounded accusations of wrong doing by bringing in ringers and ineligible rent-a-players.

Calipari is a bad guy.

Really.

His résumé says that Coach Cal has made two Final Fours. In reality, he has had team scrimmage in two "Final Threes". His first star Marcus Camby took $20,000, bling, and prostitutes from an agent (Sidebar: Really, you needed prostitutes…you went to UMass. You couldn't find a cadre of college women who were willing to throw themselves at you…at the same time? You're Marcus Camby, Dammit!). Neither the school nor Calipari were implicated in the scandal. However, the NCAA declared Camby ineligible, each game was vacated, and Calipari bolted to New Jersey. No further investigation was warranted.

Coach Cal found his way to Memphis after failing in the NBA. He started to build up a Tiger program that needed a renaissance. Memphis slowly started to build the dominate program in Conference USA (which isn't saying much. Oooo you beat the crap out of DePaul).Then Calipari recruited a Chicago guy named Derrick Rose. He wasn't too bright, so somebody else took the SAT for him. Oddly enough, the NCAA thought that it sounded like academic fraud. Once again, Calipari was not implicated, but Memphis lost their second Final Four (1985 was vacated as well). There was no further investigation, because Rose left the school to go to the NBA, and Calipari left for Kentucky.

This year at Kentucky, Cal has John Wall. He's an almost definite rent-a-player who will declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft that will either land him in Minnesota or New Jersey (which would be ironic). Calipari says that he's a real student with a 3.something suspect GPA. It's hard to believe him considering Cal's previous educational standards. How do we know that he's been doing his own work? I don't really like making an accusation like that, but if you look at Cal's body of work, it's easy to assume the worst. It wouldn't be that hard to pull off. Just ask Clem Haskins.

This guy is dirty. Sure, he wasn't implicated either time, but these things seem to happen on his watch. For as much as I hate Kentucky, I would really hate to see a program I respect tarnished again. When the Eddie Sutton scandal rained hell on Lexington, I thought that it was sad. Kentucky was a great adversary, and watching that team gutted because someone was unscrupulous was hard to. It watered down a great rivalry.

Look, I know what I am talking about. Indiana hired a guy that smelled of scandal several years ago, and they knew he was a bad guy. They did it anyway. Kelvin Sampson single handedly destroyed a storied tradition, and besmirched a program that prided itself on being clean. Indiana is starting over again. Please, Kentucky, don't do the same thing.

I feel like the guy telling a female friend that the guy she's dating is dangerous, and she's screaming back. "You just don't know him." Then I would say, "Sweetie, I know his kind."

We had Kelvin Sampson.

We can recognize a dirty coach.

If not, then, we'll see you on the way back down.