A few football thoughts post-lockout. My usual reminder that I don’t really know a whole lot about the sport, though I did meet LT once.
A few football thoughts post-lockout. My usual reminder that I don’t really know a whole lot about the sport, though I did meet LT once.
While building itself into probably the most lucrative, powerful and popular major sports league, the NFL has accomplished a great deal. But I think its greatest achievement is finding a way to take the most loathed concept among American sports fans – the lockout – and turn it into an enormously successful marketing campaign.
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A couple of factors were working against Saturday’s 52 Fest, an event benefiting the recovery efforts of Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down during a game against Army last year.
For one, the venue was sort of hard to find. I drove around Woodbridge, N.J., for about 45 minutes before I stopped at a bar and was directed to a park on a peninsula next to a PSE&G plant. Though honestly, that could have been more about my admittedly horrible sense of direction than anything else.
And the fact that it was roughly 1,000 degrees outside with a chance of thunderstorms likely kept some people away who might have ordinarily shown up.
But if there was a theme to the afternoon, it’s that it’s not worth getting caught up in such trivialities.
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The NBA Draft is among my five favorite sports days of the year, and I’m not alone: Anybody who appreciates basketball on any level from high school to pro gets something out of it. I’ve been to three drafts, and it’s been great every time. This year, I’m ecstatic to see Kyrie Irving go at the top, having watched him play a half-dozen times in high school for St. Patrick’s.
I usually do a mock draft on the site, but this year, I’m proud to present a fresh perspective from friend of SportsAngle Robert Jamis, a Nets fan and one of the most savvy basketball observers I know.
Robert really did a terrific mock — though as anyone who’s ever done one of these knows, doing one of these amid all the rumors is like counting grains of sand on the beach, especially after the first few picks. This draft, considered very weak after guys like Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger and Harrison Barnes stayed in school. But I think he did a fantastic job with it, and his player analysis is superb. I want to go to a Hofstra game next year with his uncles.
Check it out after the jump, and enjoy the draft tonight.
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When you open my apartment door, the first thing you see when you walk in is a poster of the “We Are All Witnesses” billboard that stood as a beacon of pride in Cleveland.
I loved that campaign. It encapsulated everything I wanted LeBron James to be.
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The one time I met Anthony Weiner in person was in the Shea Stadium parking lot the morning before the Trade Deadline in July 2005. At the time, he was stumping for a mayoral bid.
“It’s true,” Weiner said with an air of certitude to a group of constituents. “The Mets have traded for Manny Ramirez, and they’re going to have a press conference at noon.”
Obviously, Rep. Weiner is about as reliable with baseball news as he is with his dalliances on the internet.
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Our good friend and budding sports mogul Elliot Solop, proprietor of The Sports Tomato, has been doing some great stuff at New York Law School. He got in touch recently to tell me about a couple of really interesting events this week that he thought I would be interested in, and would perhaps like to share with SportsAngle. Elliot was absolutely right, as I hope to attend both events, work permitting.
Here’s the information, after the jump:
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All this drama about Kobe Bryant using a homosexual slur piqued my interest, mostly because I’ve learned from that same mistake.
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I’ll be honest, I never fully understood the concept of a vacation.
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Terry Rains and I went back to Kean University for the Primetime Shootout on Sunday, joined by John Calipari and a few other notables. World Wide Wes was there acting secretive and saying hello to literally everyone that walked by.
Here are our thoughts on Findlay Prep’s bounceback game, and the No. 1 team in the nation against the No. 1 player in the nation:
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From the first time I went to the Primetime Shootout — a young up-and-comer named LeBron James scored 52 points in Trenton — I was hooked. The tournament has always lured some of the best teams in the country, and it’s a great opportunity to get a handle on players you end up seeing at major college programs or in the pros.
(The tournament has hosted A-listers like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony in the past. I’ve personally seen Luol Deng, Nolan Smith, Ty Lawson, Trevor Ariza and Sebastian Telfair.)
The Mega Group did a great job as usual organizing the Shootout, attracting not only a cadre of top teams, but a host of notables at courtside: The infamous World Wide Wes, Kentucky czar John Calipari, Murder Inc producer Irv Gotti, and former NBA players Ron Harper and NJ prep legend Dajuan Wagner.
I was joined on Saturday and Sunday by Terry Rains, a contributor to SportsAngle and Blue Devil Nation. We’ll have some video interviews in the next day or so, but for now, here are some of our thoughts, starting with Saturday:
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