In this brief article on Jerry Sloan from Brad Rock, the former coach states that he never said he wouldn't coach again. That didn't bother me so much as this statement,
For a man so obviously driven to win, it seems incongruous that at age 69 Sloan would suffer retirement easily. This is the man who sometimes held practices on Christmas Day. Yet he seemed content this week. Asked what he has been doing since February, he joked, "Nothing. It's the best job a guy can have."
Perhaps as evidenced by his abrupt retirement, Sloan just doesn't seem to have the fire that he once had. That's fine, age and the wear and tear from being in the NBA can do that to you, it's just that I always pictured Sloan going on forever. Even in retirement, I always imagined him doing something yet he's sold off all his tractors and doesn't seem to be doing much.
That should be the equivalent of a Mack truck running into a brick wall. Instead it seems like a Model T running out of fuel and slowly coming to a stop.
Shouldn't he at least be chasing Greg Ostertag off his lawn and writing strongly-worded letters (he doesn't email) to his local government officials? I guess I should have known something wasn't right when he had tears in his eyes at his press conference. It had all finally gotten to Sloan.
Tom Ziller once again does an excellent job taking David Stern to task over the league's lawsuit yesterday where they threatened to void all contracts,
And if they do [void the contracts], in the course of this fight? Then we will be writing books titled How David Stern Killed The NBA. That decision, should it ever be made, will set the league back decades. Stern will be longing for the days of Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson. Or Wes Unseld, Gus Williams and Maurice Lucas. Or George Mikan and Jack Twyman. Stone age, man.
Can you imagine the mayhem? Everyone's now a free agent. You have fantasy drafts for NBA2K or for fantasy basketball. That's what this would be. That's why it won't happen.
A couple of other articles on Stern:
David Stern Will Not Collect On Eight-Figure Salary During NBA Lockout, According To Marc Stein - SBNation.com
The seemingly most powerful man in the NBA's current negotiation's standoff will not collect his salary until the NBA lockout, according to sources speaking to ESPN's Marc Stein. Stern has, however, "given no indication that he will agree to lower his salary when the sides ultimately do hammer out a new labor agreement," according to the report.
NBA commissioner facing grim battle | Posted Sports | National Post
And to do that [cancel the season] requires some ruthlessness, and a smattering of intellectual dishonesty — really, David, comparing NBA salaries to NFL salaries, apples to apples? — and it’s a shame, really. Stern tends to do what he believes is right, whether the rest of us agree, and now he is caught between the owners and the game, and he’s chosen a side. As one person who knows him puts it, "You don’t think he knows he’s 68, and this is his last deal? You think he doesn’t know he’s putting a blowtorch to his legacy if they lose a season?" It looks like it’s killing him. It probably is.
On this, the league's birthday, Mashable takes a look at just how the NBA is taking over digital media. It's partnership with Turner Sports has led to an incredible array of offerings from mobile apps, online video, and a presence on the major social media networks.
Perez says players showed little resistance to social media and are excited to engage with their fans - 250 NBA players have Twitter accounts and 75 have a Facebook Page. Overall, the league, team, and players have accumulated nearly 120 million followers and fans combined across Twitter and Facebook. At the start of this season, there were 63 million fans across these platforms, so the social media fanbase has nearly doubled.
In one year they doubled their followers from 63 million. That's astonishing given the number of followers they already had. They had record earnings and record TV numbers. And they're going to kill all of that momentum.
I missed this from a couple of days ago, but when every player is saying that they would consider playing overseas, Derrick Favors is saying no
Jazz forward Derrick Favors isn't going anywhere.
Favors' agent, Wallace Prather, said Monday that his client currently has no intention of playing in Europe or China during the NBA lockout.
"Not a chance ... as of now," Prather said.
It's not a "hell, no," but it's the closest thing we've heard from a player. That's what I want to hear from a player though when asked if they plan on going overseas to play. "Heeeeelllll no. Why would I go and do something like that?"
We had 9 people yesterday say they were going to play in the Dodge Barrage for the SLC Dunk team. So far, I have had 4 people sign up. So here's the form again. The deadline is this Friday. I'm sure we'll get enough for one team. We're going to try to push it to two though. If we can't get enough for two, it's going to be a first-come basis, so the first ten to sign up will get in.