1. Laron Profit: As much as I loved the documentary on the Fab Five, was I the only person who thought it was incomplete because we never got to hear from Chris Webber on several different issues, including the timeout he called and Ed Martin?
2. Etan Thomas: I thought the documentary on the Fab Five was great and I thought Grant Hill's response was wonderful. I can only pray that my kids talk about be with that much pride. But is it difficult for people to relate to Jalen Rose when he described the jealousy he felt (at age 17) when looking at Grant Hill and the relationship he had with his dad and the fact that he came from a good environment and Jalen Rose had the opposite experience never meeting his father and growing up poor? Is it difficult to understand where he is coming from?
3. Etan Thomas: Did everyone misinterpret what Jalen Rose was actually saying in the documentary? I definitely didn't hear him say that Grant Hill was less black because he had a father. Or that a true black family is one where the father is not in the home or any of the other accusations I have been reading.
4. Etan Thomas: When Jalen Rose described how he viewed Duke players (when he was 17) was he simply stating a common perception of the elitism that has always surrounded the Duke program whether accurate or not?
5. Laron Profit: While I loved the Fab Five documentary, has anyone seen the documentary done on the UNLV program run by Tark and highlighted by his 1990 National Championship team and the '91 team that lost to Duke in the semifinals? Must see TV if you are a college basketball fan!
6. Laron Profit: With the recent comments made by Adrian Peterson, comparing the NFL to "modern day slavery" I think it would be unfair to the people who were actual slaves in this country or other countries around the world. I do however think that he could have used the word "exploitation" to describe the way the owners have tried to treat the players in the NFL.
7. Etan Thomas: Would anyone disagree that college athletes, particularly football and basketball players, are being exploited by not being paid after bringing in millions of dollars?
8. Etan Thomas: Correct me if I'm wrong but if on April 6th the court grants the NFLPA's petition and issues an injunction preventing the NFL from locking out its players, won't the NFL be forced to soften its position? Furthermore, wouldn't such a ruling by the court strengthen our (NBPA) bargaining position and thus encourage the NBA to reconsider its hardline position?
9. Etan Thomas: If all of these things fall in line, and we (NBPA) are forced to decertify, couldn't we seek relief from the same court and argue that the ruling in the NFL matter was applicable to our situation?
10. Laron Profit: With all the scrutiny surrounding the Auburn program and the recruitment of Cam Newton, doesn't anyone think maybe the Ohio St. program needs to be investigated more, with the knowledge that their head coach withheld information purposely to protect his players and program from infractions?
11. Laron Profit: And furthermore, how is it that the NCAA allowed the same players who will be suspended the first five games of the 2011 season to play in the Sugar Bowl? What message does that send?
12. Etan Thomas: NBA referee Bill Spooner filed a lawsuit against the Associated Press and AP reporter Jon Krawczynski for a Twitter post made by the reporter. The lawsuit states that the comments were falsely attributed to Spooner and states the Tweet, "implied that the Plantiff was engaged in fixing a game." Spooner seeks to recover damages in excess of 75,000 dollars for defamation of character per se to his professional and business reputation. If he is successful, couldn't this set the precedent for players to follow suit and wouldn't reporters finally be held accountable for what they tweet, write, post, or blog?
13. Laron Profit: With all this talk going on in the NBA about the Miami Heat, the Lakers try for a 3peat, and the deals that landed Carmelo in NY and Deron Williams in NJ, has anyone noticed that Kevin Durant is on his way to his 2nd consecutive scoring title? That is a feat only accomplished by 11 people in NBA history, and remember he was the youngest scoring champ in NBA history last year.
14. Laron Profit: Does anyone remember when Kobe Bryant was upset at Laker management because they wouldn't pull the trigger on a deal that would have brought Jason Kidd to LA for Andrew Bynum? I'm pretty sure Kobe is happy that they didn't listen to him on that one.
15. Laron Profit: While I love the excitement and upsets that happen during "March Madness" does it seem like there is a lack of overall talent in the college game? Has the early exits to the NBA really caught up to the college game and diluted their product?
16. Etan Thomas: Did Donald Sterling really not pay for Kim Hughes prostate cancer surgery when he was an assistant coach for the Clippers several years ago? And furthermore, did the players actually have to contribute most of the cost of the surgery themselves?
17. Etan Thomas: Does Sterling really have a pattern of not paying the balance on the coaches and scouts once he fires them, and basically dares them to sue him?
18. Etan Thomas: Should David Stern allow Sterling to continue such despicable practices? And why hasn't he intervened?
19. Laron Profit: Will we ever see the old Tiger Woods again or has the divorce he went through along with the constant scrutiny over his personal life robbed him of that ruthlessness and cold-blooded focus he had that allowed him to dominate the world of golf?
20. Etan Thomas: If you are head security for an NBA team (let's just say for the Atlanta Hawks) and one of your players gets caught in a situation with the police that you simply do not have the power to assist him in, would you own up to the fact that you simply couldn't help or would you place the blame on someone else in an effort to cover your own inability and mishandling of the situation?
Thomas Alter: Unheralded Heat Bench Is Key Heading Into the Playoffs
(Point/questions 1 thru 5) I liked the Fab 5 doc a lot. I liked Grant Hill's response (he gained my respect on that), but let's be honest. Duke students were given more chances than the average kid.
Grant Hill needs to acknowledge that a poor kid from Durham doesn't have a shot at going to his school unless s/he can ball, so cut the crap and get off the soap box. Durham has five projects, housing thousands of people. The Durham's black business district (Hayti) was DESTROYED (literally) to make a highway to Duke. That happened right around the time Duke won back-to-back nat'l championships...Grant was there, he should know why people hate Duke. So, when a black kid from the projects of Durham stereotypes Duke students...don't cry to me. Now take Rodney Rogers, a kid from Durham projects. THAT'S the guy we pull for, and we understand why a kid from Detroit would have that impression about Duke. And Jalen acknowledged that it was out of his own jealousy and immaturity, so I appreciated Rose's honesty and introspection.
And the UNLV doc was DYNAMITE, loved it. They did a great job of exposing the controversial point: athletes are recruited to play basketball, not become scholars, so doesn't every kid deserve a shot?
I don't know anything about the security guard thing, need more facts. I imagine once the police are involved, the security guard has to step aside (wash his hands), but there are probably all kinds of politics involved when a millionaire gets nabbed by the po...
I wanted to stop watching NFL after they screwed Cleveland out of its team, and NBA after they screwed Charlotte; but I kept watching. As for thugs and bad behavior...you must not watch ANYTHING because every form of entertainment in this country has that. Even country music (no offense, but the cowboy hat...) has drug addicts and such.
In this country right now, we are spending $2 Billion dollars a year subsidizing the big 4 sports, baseball, basketball, football and hockey. It accounts for ALL of the profits in the industry and more, as the industry as a whole is not profitable.
David Cay Johnston on Democracy Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfQDBjVhMzA
But lets make things fair- I'lll support paying varsity athletes exactly what the lowest paid graduate assistant makes on campus, and they can get only those benefits that the grad assistants get. No more training tables with better food than the rest of campus (steak dinners while the rest eat hamburger) no more free housing not offered to grad assistants, no athletic dorms, no athletes only facilities, athletes only footwear and clothing (save for uniforms and practice gear) no special tutors for athletes that are not available to students at large, no special advisors for athletes, no paid books if grad assistants don't get them, no paying athlete's fees unless grad assistants are paid as well, and no institution bought insurance policies unless the same are offered to grad assistants.