Dodgers star outfielder Yasiel Puig is at it again with his questionable antics that causes most of the baseball world — especially grouchy Dodgers fans — a reaction kind of like this.

Puig arrived late for batting practice during the Dodgers home opener against the Giants and was benched from the game. It’s the second time in Puig’s career that he has been benched for arriving late. Add to that his two driving arrests, mistakes running the bases and failure to hit the cutoff man and you can see why some fans are frustrated by his immaturity.

The catch is that he remains one of the most talented players in the baseball. The Dodgers need him and they need his antics to stop to get back to the World Series — a place they haven’t visited since 1988.

Puig needs players like Uribe to show him the way and teach him. By Ron Reiring via Wikimedia Commons

Puig set records in his first month in the big leagues causing people to call for “Puigmania” or “MVPuig”. You couldn’t walk around Los Angeles and not have someone talking about Puig or the Dodgers.

Since his historic first month, though, his numbers have declined slightly and his off field antics have caused much criticism and debate. He just hasn’t made a good impression. The thing is, people forget that he is just 23 years of age now, he hasn’t even been in the majors for even a full season. He came from a country in Cuba with little freedom and now he is a star. I think any 23-year-old kid would lose control sometimes.

Yasiel Puig is a very talented athlete, that isn’t being questioned at all. But his maturity needs to improve if he wants to continue his career as one of the stars in Major League Baseball. It will only get worse for him from here on out if he continues to do these antics. He has a microscope on him and anything he does — on or off the field — will be examined and re-examined over the course of the season.

It may be wishful thinking, but I think or at least hope that Puig finally has learned his lesson from the opening-day benching. For the Dodgers sake he better have.

Where does Kobe Bryant belong in the list of all-time greats? By Keith Allison from Kinston, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

It has been a week since LeBron James and the Heat took home their third title and second with ‘Bron Bron leading the charge. For those of us at Fansmanship, it put another spark on the gasoline marinated tinder that is our ongoing conversation about James‘ place in history.

To review — Luke has been quick to crown LeBron as an all-time great, even before he had won a title last year. Andy and I are hesitant to project. Several players in our generation in different sports have been projected to be great, or even the greatest of all-time, but have fallen short.

While Luke sat this pod out (I think he was worried about being proven wrong on his LeBron placement), Andy, Dianne, and I talked about what criteria we should use for GOAT status, who are the top-20 greatest ever, and how current players fall into the mix.

Because we are all under 35 years old, I think our lists are probably biased toward players from the 80’s and 90’s, but you can be the judge. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Below are our top-20 lists and then the podcast below that. Hope you enjoy.

Andy’s Top-20

1. Michael Jordan

2. Bill Russell

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

4. Magic Johnson

5. Wilt Chamberlain

6. Kobe Bryant

7. Shaquille O’Neal

8. Larry Bird

9. Tim Duncan

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

11. LeBron James

12. Oscar Robertson

13. Jerry West

14. Moses Malone

15. Julius Erving

16. Elgin Baylor

17. John Havlicek

18. George Mikan

19. Bob Cousy

20. Isiah Thomas

Dianne’s Top-20

1. Michael Jordan

2. Bill Russell

3. Magic Johnson

4. Larry Bird

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

6. Tim Duncan

7. Oscar Robertson

8. Jerry West

9. Wilt Chamberlain

10. Shaquille O’Neal

11. Hakeem Olajuwon

12. John Havlicek

13. Kobe Bryant

14. Lebron James

15. Julius Erving

16. Moses Malone

17. Elgin Baylor

18. Dirk Nowitzki

20. Bob Cousy

Luke’s Top-20

1. Michael Jordan

2. LeBron James

3. Ervin “Magic” Johnson

4. Wilt Chamberlain

5. Bill Russell

6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

7. Oscar Robertson

8. Larry Bird

9. Shaquille O’Neal

10. Tim Duncan

11. Hakeem Olajuwon

12. Julius Erving

13. Kobe Bryant

14. Dirk Nowtizki

15. Jerry West

16. John Stockton

17. Elgin Baylor

18. Karl Malone

19. Rick Barry

20. Moses Malone

Luke’s Second Top-20, post-podcast revised edition… if that’s allowed….

1. Michael Jordan

2. Magic Johnson

3. Bill Russell

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

5. LeBron James

6. Wilt Chamberlain

7. Larry Bird

8. Oscar Robertson

9. Tim Duncan

10. Shaquille O’Neal

11. Kobe Bryant

12. Hakeem Olajuwon

13. Julius Erving

14. Jerry West

15. Dirk Nowitzki

16. Elgin Baylor

17a. John Stockton

17b. Karl Malone

19. Moses Malone

20. Bob Cousy

Owen’s Top-20

1. Michael Jordan

2. Bill Russell

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

4. Magic Johnson

5. Larry Bird

6. Wilt Chamberlain

7. Kobe Bryant

8. Oscar Robertson

9. Shaquille O’Neal

10. Elgin Baylor

11. Hakeem Olajuwon

12. LeBron James

13. Jerry West

14. Moses Malone

15. Tim Duncan

16. Karl Malone

17 John Havlicek

18. Julius Erving

19. Charles Barkely

20. Rick Barry

By signing with the Angels, Josh Hamilton must believe that the West Side is, indeed, the best side. By Keith Allison (Flickr: Josh Hamilton) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I was sixteen. And since then, the musical machine has introduced collaborations between the likes of Tim McGraw and the dirty South’s representitive Nelly. Life is one big puffy cloud of peace now. It’s all so peachy and sweet.

Just fifteen years since what was a radical split between music’s most popular form, baseball has survived steroid scandals, broken records, and now, a major shift in league power.

After last season’s signing of Albert Pujols and C.J Wilson, the Los Angeles Angels officially put their face on the map as a legitimate threat. Tack on this year’s surprise signing of 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton to fill in rightfield, and the Angels not only boast arguably the greatest player ever in Pujols, but the best outfield in baseball — Hamilton, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo.

Not so angelic. As aren’t the Dodgers.

From the Halos, the Blue Crew courted 2009 AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, with the largest contract ever to a right handed pitcher. This capped a midseason spending spree that brought third baseman Hanley Ramirez, returning outfielder Carl Crawford, first baseman Adrian Hernandez and the hard-throwing Josh Beckett to Hollywood.

Name 50 major stars in Baseball and these from the Angels and Dodgers would be listed. Albert Pujols,  Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Mike Trout, Adrian Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Jered Weaver, Mark Trumbo, Josh Hamilton, Tommy Hansen and Andre Ethier. Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Becket, C.J Wilson and Kendrys Morales would be easily listed in the next 50. They will all be well-owned in the upcoming fantasy season.

It goes without saying that there is a major power shift occuring between America’s two coasts. Where once the Yankees and Red Sox competed yearly in bidding wars, now the Dodgers and Halos will.

The Angels allowed Greinke, Torii Hunter and Dan Haren to walk, only to upgrade with Tommy Hansen and Josh Hamilton. The Dodgers reconfigured their management, and since erecting men like Magic Johnson as the face of the franchise, have returned to form, adding five all-stars to their roster since June.

More perfect than the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry is the mere fact that both freeway rivals exist in entirely different league hemispheres. Despite their close proximity, the two can adequately meet each other in the World Series — and event I’m sure woould erupt Southern California into a horn-hollering traffic jam of ravenous fandom.

How perfect is that? Like a high-priced pickup game between neighbors: “Meet in my backyard at sunrise. Winner takes all in your backyard after school.” Weeeesssstttt Siiiiiddde, now has a whole new meaning.

If you want to see Mr. World Peace this year, you might have a hard time — depending on your cable provider. Photo by Bridget Samuels (Flickr: P1010031.jpg) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

On the first of this month, Time Warner Cable Sportsnet rolled out the red carpet for their two infant sports cable networks. Both will carry the same content, one in English and one in Spanish.

In a glitzy and glamorous presentation only reserved for the likes of Tinseltown, big names like Kobe Bryant, David Beckham, Dwight Howard, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pau Gasol and Landon Donovan were all present for the epic kick-off.

But what were they celebrating? These new networks claim to be able to take both the Lakers and the Los Angeles Galaxy MLS soccer franchise to the next level – but at the network’s outset, they seem creating a bottleneck for several fans.

Time Warner has paid a sum of 3 billion dollars over the next 20 years to carry the Lakers and the Galaxy. That’s all fine and dandy, but the problem is Time Warner Sportsnet is only currently offered to Time Warner Cable subscribers.

Just 35% (1.7 million of 4.8 million) of television customers in the greater Los Angeles area are Time Warner Cable subscribers. And even that minority percentage drops significantly when you factor in surrounding areas (like San Luis Obispo County) that don’t even have a Time Warner option. This is a striking punch in the gut to a region that could tune into Fox Sports West or KCAL9 before the takeover, and catch every single one of the Lakers’ non-nationally televised games. Herein lies a major problem between Time Warner and everyone else.

Direct TV, Dish Network, Charter Communications and Cox Cable are all currently at the bargaining table. Time Warner obviously holds all the cards in the market. The Lakers are the equivalent of gold bullion in the Southern California region.

Anything and everything as far as programming in the Southern California region stems and moves through the Lakers broadcast. Go ask KCAL9. Their newscasts prior to and following Lakers road broadcasts were essential in making them Los Angeles’ news leader. And now that the Lakers are gone, their ratings won’t even be in the same ballpark as before.

So what does this chaos and disarray mean to Lakerfans like you and I? Let’s start at $3.95 more a month on top of your current provider subscription. This is what Time Warner is currently proposing to all the other outlets. That would make Time Warner Sportsnet the second most expensive regional sports network in the nation behind Comcast SportsNet Washington, which charges $4.02 more than the base charge, per subscriber, per month.

Directv said in a statement that it is “very engaged” in talks to carry the channels, but said it has a responsibility to its customers to “avoid any extraordinary increases” in their monthly bills. Ugh. Sounds like a stalemate and we are all already tired of lockouts, aren’t we?

And the worst part? This Laker team is the story this upcoming NBA season. The overall talent the Lakers have acquired in the off-season is arguably the best collection on paper that has been assembled in Lakerland since The Showtime Era of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. Only being able to watch this team when they are on national television will be beyond a frustrating process for Lakerfans to say the least.

So what does the dilemma all come down to? Money, of course, just like it always does. I just hope Time Warner understands that yes, there is a lot of money to be made, but if you don’t settle on a reasonable deal soon, there is also a lot of money to be lost. And as of right now, if things stand as they are once the regular season kicks off, there is no answer for non-Time Warner Lakerfans to turn to.

If you think the couch burning after championships was bad, imagine what will start to burn if the majority of Southland fans can’t see their Lakers? I’m already starting to stock up on lighter fluid like Mayan Calendar 2012 conspiracy theorists are hoarding canned goods.

Make me put down my lighter, Time Warner.

I idolize/d Byron Scott and Magic Johnson. Loved the 39-win team in 1993 that nearly knocked off the all-mighty Charles Barkley-led Suns. At the age of 12, I loved Sedale Threatt. Embraced Cedric “the Garbage Man” Ceballos as the most underrated swing man of the 90’s and still root for the grinning spin doctor of humor with a dominate unrelenting game and a personality to match it: Shaquille O’Neal.

You see….I like me some Lakers. But I just don’t love the maniacally self obsessed Kobe Bryant. That’s it.   

That was in my opinion (key word there…pay attention), the worst move in franchise history, when the team opted to send Shaq packing to Miami in favor of Kobe. It set a precedent that anyone and everyone was/is recyclable. And Shaq, the man who made Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant is not ever, for one second, recyclable. 

So I began asking the question: Why do I have to go down with the ship if I hate the captain? Why don’t I get to be a free agent with my fansmanship? Why do I have to keep rooting for a team whose face I no longer support? Little did I know just how common my Central-Coast -swing-state perspective was.

A perfect example of this was documented by our own Owen Main in the Spring of 2011. Main asked the question in this article: Is the Central Coast a Giants or Dodgers country? And the answer was neither. What we discovered about ourselves was that we just don’t take sports that serious here. We have beautiful women, concerts in the plaza, an electric farmers market, beautiful downtown’s, stunning antique architecture, award-winning wine country, great bars, rolling Irish-like hillsides, hiking, rugged beaches, pines by the sea, clean air, low crime, abundance of restaurants, wonderful school systems, plentiful tourism, fishing, lakes and according to Oprah, one of the happiest environments in the world. 

Hakuna Matata.

Here, we embrace the many shades of grey and not the childish infatuations or irrelevant loyalty to organizations that have no grip whatsoever on our SLO life.

So here is my short opinion on the Dwight Howard landing in Los Angeles:

I think the move to land Dwight Howard was the second worst decision in team history. He’s a malcontent disconnected character with a lust for Hollywood stardom. And though I agree that Andrew Bynum was a glass kneed fool with a cheap and uninspired heart, he was, for the time-being locked up longer than one freaking year.

One year. 

In the Summer of 2013 when Howard is an unrestricted free agent, he will do as he’s promised all along by signing an enormous contract with the Brooklyn Nets to become the billboard face of Jay-Z’s franchise. And then what? Steve Nash is 40, Bryant a crippled 35 and Meta World is off in India learning to braid hair and meditate. 

The Lakers now have one year to win Bryant his sixth ring and are still only the third best team in the Western Conference. Not to mention I give them only a smidgen of a shot against the deep defensive minded Bulls and no shot whatsoever against the steam-rolling, LeBron-led Heat. I can name four teams right now with a deeper rotation: the Thunder, Spurs, Bulls and Heat.  And the upstart Pacers are on the fringes.    

So just remember this article when Dwight Howard is an underachieving underwear model with his low seeded Nets teams and you’re stuck watching pick and rolls between Steve Blake and Jordan Hill.  Learn to stop throwing rocks and sticking your tongue out at pragmatic realists with a fair take on things. It’s getting tiring and old and I would like to have a mature conversation.  

The group, figureheaded by Magic Johnson and led by Stan Kasten and Mark Walter, have done lots of tangible things including lowering parking prices and making sure that concessions are manned by an appropriate number of workers — two things Frank McCourt made tangibly worse during his tenure as owner.

In a letter today to fans, Kasten covered many of these improvements:

When Magic Johnson, Mark Walter and I were introduced as the new ownership team two months ago, we made bold commitments to you and to all of the Los Angeles community. Since then, we have conducted surveys, focus groups and town hall meetings. In addition, we’ve engaged in countless conversations with many of you each night at the ballpark. We will continue to listen to you and your suggestions regarding the improvement of your Dodger Stadium experience and we have already begun to act on your recommendations. Some have been achieved already, some are in progress, and still others are being planned. But they all represent a no-excuses culture that we are creating throughout the Dodger organization.

Kasten’s group has done a good job of changing the culture around the team and stadium, as a fan first and owner second.  His email shows that he’s at least making an effort to keep lines of communication with fans open. After an obliteration of such lines under the McCourt regime, it feels like a warm hug to us Dodger fans to be communicated-with even a little bit.

Despite the warm fuzzy that the letter gave me, the most important portions of it were the following two line items from Kasten:

— We have moved forward with a more aggressive strategy in scouting and signing international players, a hallmark trait of this organization, to strengthen our player development system. This strategy has already paid dividends in the recent signing of Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig and others.

— Most importantly, as demonstrated by the recent signing of Andre Ethier to a five-year contract extension that will keep him a Dodger playing alongside Matt Kemp through at least 2017, the signing of the aforementioned Puig and the signing of Corey Seager, our No. 1 draft choice, we have the resources to assure the Dodgers are contenders year in and year out.

Hey look over here, not over there!

Like a dog abused over and over, many Dodgers fans are still wary. McCourt had what seemed like a number of good plans and a lot of loud and proud announcements that proved to quietly be duds. Examples included, but certainly weren’t limited to the way the Dodgers handled the finances of club-backed charities, continued deterioration of the fan experience inside the ballpark, and a spin-heavy set of roster decisions based on poor financial management and not on the team.

So, while I’m generally pleased with what Kasten has done, he and the Dodgers organization must understand that I need some time to heal before I fall head-over-heels with trust.

LeBron James’ career has burst into flames, after his self-aggrandizing title prophecies with the Miami Heat ended Sunday in a game six loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA’s darling just one year ago–a mild tempered family man, with the dribble speed game of MJ, and the passing and rebounding finesse of Magic, is not only the league’s most wanted but is now left for another off-season to ponder his lowly 2-8 record in NBA Finals games and dismal 2-6 record in must-win elimination games.

As much as the league has tried to endorse James as the predecessor to MJ’s greatness, one is left to wonder whether he will go down as the games biggest bust. Despite this ever-evolving debate in the eight year relationship fans and critics have had with James, the man himself seems undeterred.

“I pretty much don’t listen to what everybody has to say about me or my game or what I’ve done with my career,” James said. “I don’t get involved in that. This is year after year after year for me. Me as an individual, people write or say what they want to say about me. It doesn’t weigh on me at all.”

This is yet another form of kindling for the LeBron hatred across the country, and is the type of thing that has taken the “King” mantle from James and placed his name among the all-time villains. Something LeBron seems indifferent towards.

“All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that.”

Despite the criticisms, LeBron’s mantra is simple: his life is better than yours. Today the man woke up to a multi-million dollar mansion with his family, and is currently sipping prepared pina coladas by an aqua lagoon furnaced by his own personal natural hot spring. As his wife kisses his forehead, his children have the best education money can buy, and his hard-working mother — the one who worked day and night as a single mother — is doing just the same.

So what gives?

“It hurts of course,” James said. “ I’m not going to hang my head low. I know how much work as a team we put into it. I know how much work individually that I’ve put into it, when you guys are not around. That’s something people don’t see. I think you can never hang your head low when you know how much work, how much dedication you put into the game of basketball when the lights are off and the cameras are not on.”

LeBron’s confidence in his work ethic is the saturation necessary to help him get past this on-going bout of losing when it matters most. In fact LeBron seems half-right. In eight elimination games in the playoffs, his career numbers of 29.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assist would argue his point.

Yet for Cleveland fans and many across the country the problem has never been LeBron’s abilities, rather his inabilities to close out games in the final minutes. Cavs fans are left to ponder not only James inappropriate decision parade on national television, one in which took them from title hopefuls to cellar dwellers, but his final game against Boston in the Conference Semi-Finals where James looked as if he’d quit on the franchise and aloof thereafter.

This loss, whether it be just another loss in a long seemingly successful hall of fame career for James, is vindication for many across America. For Cavs owner Dan Gilbert it was everything he needed to move on with his career. After the loss, Gilbert tweeted: “Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE.”

The longtime friendship Gilbert and James had, rooted in the franchise selection of the Akron native, continued its bitter feud. Gilbert has never waned from admitting his disappointment in the player he believed was faithful and would help change the course for Cleveland fans’ long drought without a professional title.

This is like the “Young and the Restless,” but better–it is Brokeback Mountain the sequel, starring Jamie Foxx and business mogul Bill Gates. But jest aside, this is the life of a man left to wonder whether his career will ever culminate into anything more than best greatest loser of all-time.

For James and any other NBA great, the tiers of hall of fame stars is a real topic, one of which none of these player can run from. It is like having your name sprawled next to MJ, Magic, or Bird instead of Iverson, Dominique, or Ewing.

And despite the majority, who are beginning to wonder whether James is the latter, the star is limitless in his drive. “The only thing that weighs on me is when I don’t perform well for my teammates and the guys that I play for every day,” said James. Which as of now, seems like the theme to his rocky unabashed career.

For a kid growing up in the 80’s, the Lakers dominance was a right of passage. In 1987, I was six years old and I have real memories of the moment when Magic sunk his sky-hook against the Celtics. The Lakers made eight out of ten NBA Finals in the 80’s and won five. Hearing Chick Hearn calling Magic’s sky-hook still gives me the chills.

In 1989, at the age of 8, I watched the Lakers’ last title for a while. After making the Finals in 1991, the franchise lost their superstar and fell on some hard times. Names like Magic, Kareem, and Big Game James were replaced by guys named VanExel, Sedale, Vlade, and Pig. In 1993-94, they finished 16 games below .500 and didn’t make the playoffs. Even for a 12-year old Lakers fanatic, Vlade’s soft Euro-game, Elden Campbell’s small hands, and James Edwards’ fade-away post moves didn’t cut it. VanExel was too young, Sedale too old, and even then George Lynch annoyed me.

While the Lakers continued to improve both in talent and in their record, the remainder of the pre-Shaq era was largely filled with end-of-season frustration and the realization that the Western Conference was completely inferior and that the Lakers were even inferior within the Western Conference.

In one offseason, Shaq’s decision to sign with the Lakers changed everything. No longer did Lakers fans have to deal with the frustration of a 7-foot center who was reluctant to dunk. Shaq’s game was everything that the Lakers seemed to need and more. More importantly, Shaq gave the Lakers a headliner they had been missing in the years since Magic retired. In a star-studded city like Los Angeles, don’t underestimate the impact of a headliner.

Despite losses to the Jazz in the playoffs and frustrating finishes to season, watching Shaq was ALWAYS a treat. As a fan, you always felt like you might see a feat of athletic dominance that you’d never seen before. The Diesel was “bigger, stronger, and faster” personified.

It took patience to wait for Phil Jackson to move to Los Angeles and for Kobe Bryant to mature enough to provide the second punch in the Lakers’ attack. But while we waited for the team to mature, Shaq provided mammoth dunk after mammoth dunk.

During the 1999-2000 season, Shaq took both his game and his showmanship to another level. In the new Staples Center — the entertainment crown jewel of Los Angeles — fans were serenaded with the theme from Superman whenever their own “Superman” established his dominance over an opponent.

The Lakers won the title in 2000 and the next two after that. His amazing ability on the court was sealed.

But I will remember other things most about Shaq and his time in Los Angeles.

I will remember not answering the questions asked by someone like Craig Saeger or John Ireland, but rather answer whatever question he felt like answering.

Sideline guy: “Shaq, you scored 37 points and pulled down 22 rebounds. Was the game plan to get the ball into you early?”

Shaq: “My teammates were really great tonight, I love this city and we are all excited to get this win on the road.”

Genius.

I’ll remember Shaq’s glossing himself “The Big Aristotle” after some deep conversations with and study under the Zen Master.

I’ll remember his story about how Phil Jackson made him swim out into a lake to help him with a chore when he went to visit Jackson in Montana after Jackson committed to the Lakers. Whether it happened or not, it was a great story and vintage Shaq showmanship.

I’ll always remember conversations with my college roommate, Kurt, about how his teammates were the stupidest people alive if they didn’t throw the ball into Shaq in the post on every possession. He was that dominant.

Most of all, I’ll probably remember some of Shaq’s quotes about being allowed to be abused in the post.

Many of them are chronicled here at http://shaqquotes.com .

Some of my favorites are:

“Keep in mind, I’m not allowed to be tough. I’m tamed.” Shaq had to take abuse all game, every game, and not strike back. His self-awareness of the fact that he was “tamed” is an interesting observation. For those who question how hard he tried or how much he cared, you should also question what kind of madness may have happened to other people on the court had he cared a little more or acted out on what were surely his desires to get all the Matt Geigers of the world back for inflicting constant physical harm upon him.

“You guys make the rules up, so a foul is a foul.  It doesn’t matter if a guy is bigger and stronger. It’s not my fault I ate my Frosted Flakes when I was little, and you ate Wheaties.”

Shaq gave Barkley-level quotes while being likeable during his playing days. He had what was arguably the most dominant 5 year stretch a player could have. He went away from Los Angeles and while he was bitter, he had built up so much good will, that it was still hard to dislike him as an overweight and bitter also-ran who was run out of town. As a Lakers fan, I was truly happy for him when he won another title.

Despite an injury-plagued end to his career, Shaq even made the Celtics more likable this year. His impact on the game will be measured against Bird, Magic, Jordan, Chamberlain, Robertson, West, Erving, and Jabbar. At a time when everyone complained about a Jordan-less league Shaq was the main attraction, carrying the weight of David Stern’s post-Jordan bitterness on his broad shoulders with ease. His presence will be missed on the court.

His retirement, however, opens up an opportunity for the greatest pre/post game show in NBA history. I can’t watch those games, but I would probably tune in to see Shaq, Charles, Kenny, and EJ on a pre-game, halftime, or post-game show. Can you dig it?

There is only one man who can answer these pondering’s, that being “Big Shot Bob,” otherwise known as Robert Horry, who made a living with the Rockets, Lakers, and Spurs, en route to seven rings by nailing the clutch shot.

Why does this matter? He was never a star, but he has rings galore bronzed on his swish- svelte fingers. 

In today’s NBA we judge  all-time greats by how many rings they’ve won and whether or not they led their teams to title town. But is this a fair assessment, considering a life-long bench guy like Horry can be carried to seven?

Never was Horry the franchise guy. In fact, as great as he seemed in closing minutes, Robert Horry never became the player we expected him to be after his timely three point shooting for Houston’s 2nd title run.

Horry’s brief stint in Phoenix after a trade in 1996, proved he was not endowed with a star motor. A hot tempered, dramatic and aloof head case, Bob languished averaging 6.9 points at a career low shooting clip: 41.8%. A trade by mid-season to the L.A. Lakers–a team filled with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, and Cedric Ceballos changed the trajectory of his failing career.

So why then is Bob a champion? Why not franchise guys like Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Dominique, Ewing, or Reggie Miller?

Each of those listed above were worthy of winning gold, were they not? All of them were respective franchise pieces with the heart, skills, and late game heroics to hold the O’Brien.

The answer to their problems was Michael Jordan’s Bulls: a team of role guys surrounding the king of the sport with that IT factor needed to win it all. Something today’s critics use to gauge greatness and rank the all time elites.

So what is the issue then with the tautness of this old-time equation? Why not turn a blind eye and allow this to be the answer to everything?

Simply because it just does not add up. It does not offer enough answers. If Big Shot Bob has seven, or the likes of Jack Haley–former twelfth man for Jordan’s final three peat has three, the equation’s a bit off. We need something else, a new perspective when thinking of the greats and why and how they never hung the O’Brien.

And I believe individual luck IS the partly the answer, luck, a maddening machine random like the California Lottery. Historians prefer the term historical happenings–a notion that choices are made for no other reason except that they were made, and the dominoes re-arrange the cosmos of a world more closely inter-connected than we might wish it to be (think guy who smells like farts at the movies, or the swine flu victim winding a cough onto the back nape of the neck.)

Luck.

To think Michael Jordan fell to number three in the 1984 draft could be easily overlooked for a variety of reasons: Sam Bowie, the number two pick before MJ, was a  college superstar and a big man compared at the time to the greats. The Blazers already had a gifted wingman in Clyde Drexler andat the time the league was built around bigs: Kareem, Sampson and Olajuwan, Robert Parish, Patrick Ewing, and Moses Malone.

But that doesn’t make things less ludicrous.  Look at how the draft shaped the NBA forever. MJ goes to an ordinary Bulls team built in perhaps the greatest city in America, where he wins ROY, ultimately five MVP’s, slam dunk contests, becomes the games biggest mogul, and wins six titles. Alongside Oprah, MJ is easily the greatest name in Chicago history and can be attributed for an economical explosion that saved the lower West side of the city once run with crime: drug abuse, gang wars, and prostitution.

Bowie, in the annals of the NBA, is known as ‘the bust.’ He never won a thing in the pros: no all star games, no shoe deals, thus injuring the once bright ideal the Blazers had in trading their franchise Center Bill Walton to Boston.

This, my friends, is the Sam Bowie, a supernatural element that cannot be ignored.

Luck.

Yet like so many children born into inner city poverty without the tools necessary to change their lives, we cannot judge the stars through the a similar bias, because not all players are born lucky into a posh franchise. The gift of playing in Los Angeles or Boston does not come to everyone. Not every player is born into a showtime era, a team so deep they make the ocean look like a kids pool.

For some, seeking a new home is like divorcing an abusive wife. In order for Mitch Richmond to adorn gold, the talented and true shooting guard had to eventually break ties in the perils of Sacramento. Karl Malone found it necessary to join with Kobe and Shaq in 04′ after a long tenure in Utah. And even the humble Clyde Drexlerleft a hell of a situation in Portland to win it Houston. All three of which were great with or without (Sing it Bono) a championship.

The reality of the situation is heart breaking for most. We as childish dreamers wish our favorite player could be greater than the others, but this is not real. Embracing a pragmatic approach to the sport tied less to your heart strings will allow you to see greatness wrapped in many different packages. 

Reality 1: Great players DO NOT win championships, great TEAMS win championships. The 2004 Detroit Pistons are a perfect example of this. A team of role guys without a future hall of famer, the Pistons had the momentary IT. Call it faith, hard work, purity, and any other beautiful thing you want, but to explain why they won a title over an L.A. Laker team stocked with four future hall of famers would be absurd.

Reality 2: Like the stars in the sky, NBA STARS need other STARS. Think for a moment about the teams who’ve won championships the last thirty years. All of them have one thing in common: team depth and stars surrounding stars. Magic had Kareem and Worthy; Bird–Mchale and Parish; Dr.J–Moses Malone; Isaiah–Dumars and Rodman; MJ–Pippen; Hakeem–Clyde; Shaq–Kobe and Wade; Duncan–Robinson, Parker, and Ginobili; Pierce–KG and Allen.

Reality 3:  Winning titles does mean a lot, but it does not mean everything for a myriad of reasons. If the 1919 Chicago Blacksox or dirty referees like Tim Donaghy can throw World Series and playoff games, then how serious can we take this thing? Not very. Take everything with a grain of salt and learn other decided facets when it comes to judging all-time greats: MVP’s, All Star appearances, Career Totals, Game Winners, Ability to close, Athleticism, Re-defining the sport, dominance-ometer, and sociological affects.

LeBron James is not a sell out because the guy wants to win, he’s a realist. A star unselfish enough to admit that NO star including himself, can win a title completely on his own.

LeBron is stuck in the the Bill Clinton Vacuum. Though he does great things, he is brushed aside because of one unlikeable decision.

But greatness is not a grade school quiz on being friendly, it is brutal giftedness. And likeability is not the twin brother to being great.

LeBron made a  decision to better his career andhis life. Leading a Cleveland Cavs team the last seven years, that never boasted anybody better than a has-been version of Antawn Jamison warrants James departure.  No it does not warrant the overdone TV cinematic’s regarding “the decision,” nor the Pat Riley blowout introduction party in South Beach. Yet neither should it foster the illogical hysteria across America attempting to deny the man’s sheer dominance and greatness.

This isn’t patty cake kids. We are talking about a production entertainment, where all titles are but a decorative decor. They might help the woman look fine, but if that woman is not fine without the jewelry or the tight fitting jeans, I say run, run as fast as you can.

Drop by the nearest bar and have a scotch on me. Look through the world with freshness and at what is truly great (it is not the girl next to you.). It is the scraggly bartender able to whip up drinks faster than the average Joe.

Kidd turned the Mavericks, a perpetual doormat of a franchise, into an instant threat to win any game on any night. He was the main facilitator for wing scorers Jamal Mashburn and Jim Jackson. What Kidd could do with the ball from the outlet hadn’t been seen since Magic Johnson in his prime.

The 1994-95 Dallas squad Kidd was drafted by, along with the following year’s 1995-96 team, also featured current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. Brooks was Kidd’s backup at point guard during both seasons. I’m surprised the telecast of the Western Conference Finals hasn’t spewed this connection ad nauseum. They usually eat this kind of stuff up?

Kidd is third all-time in regular season triple-doubles with 107 and is first in playoff triple-doubles with 11.  The primary taste of finals action Kidd saw came when he lead the Nets to back to back finals in 2002 and 2003.  Amidst both ascensions, he ultimately fell short of the pinnacle.

The most amazing reality is that Kidd has played the most post season games of any active player that hasn’t won a championship, while taking his team to the playoffs the last 14 years straight.  The odds of so many close opportunities missed puts the Atlanta Braves to shame.

All this being said, the point being asserted is that Kidd has come full circle.  Before this recent playoff run, the easy argument could have been made that Kidd was simply a shell of what he once was.  This can no longer be debated, as he can at age 38, amazingly still do a lot of the same things that made him such a hot commodity when he was drafted.

His decision-making is still at a level that is so elite, that I defy you to find anyone in the league that has the ability to captain the way Kidd is still able to.

Derrick Rose, while immensely talented with an NBA MVP under his belt at the youngest age there has ever been one, still has room to grow and makes far more mistakes running the point than Kidd has on average over his illustrious career.  This is not to say Rose won’t eventually go down in history as encompassingly superior, but it is to say that Kidd currently is a better overall manager of his team on the floor, with his cunning acumen and his refined awareness.

Russell Westbrook, another up-and-coming combo guard, can’t even be mentioned in the same sentence, due to his immaturity, defiance and selfishness.  Westbrook has a long way to go to be that true floor general everyone expects, and after viewing his latest chapter, I lead myself to believe he could eventually become a bust, based on his current potential, coupled with his deflation of a true winner’s attitude.

Chris Paul can be thrown in the mix, but he hasn’t reached the NBA elite.  It can be debated that the best help he has ever had is David West, but Paul’s skill set is not the same as Kidd’s.  Yes, Paul may be able to weave mismatches with slightly more efficiency and haste, but a player Paul’s size can’t match-up on defense versus a 6’4″ one guard.  Defense is where the advantage lies.  It can never be forgotten that they term one’s position based on their defensive match-up foremost and certainly.

Steve Nash may rival Kidd, as he features a couple of MVP’s, but his lack of size and defense has always been a liability.  The chemistry value that Nash has brought to every team he has ever suited up for cannot be glossed over, and his outside shooting, as well as his one-handed, floater game cannot be discounted.  The fact of the matter is, Kidd has lasted at an exclusive level longer than Nash in their shared, dwindling years.  Maybe if Nash and Dirk had stayed together, I’d be singing a different tune.

Kidd’s defense might not be as athletic as it used to be, but he has made up for that with the experience and savvy of anticipation and being in the right place at the right time.  His penetration skills might have regressed in his latter years, but he has made up for that with his exceptional three-point shooting, which has been near the top of the league during the last 5 years.

Kidd has now lead Dallas to the point of the only once charted, and that as an extremely less experienced team.  He is one step away from leading the team he was originally drafted by back to the Finals.  It would be only Dallas’ second Finals appearance, and the first in which they would be potentially favored.

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Let the attention now move from the great story of Kidd to the even greater story of these NBA Playoffs, Dirk Nowitzki.

In 2006, The Heat toppled the Mavericks in the NBA Finals.  If this same match-up ends up unfolding in about a week, no doubt the Mavericks will be looking to avenge, regardless of the star power of “the big three.”  You can boast three all-stars, but no one is going to guard the skill-set that Dirk boasts.  This much cannot be disputed.

Good luck with that, “Heatles.”  You can bring John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to the stage, but everyone will rally and cry in populous that no one has the game to match Elvis.