OT: David Stern is a joke

[dash]

Hammering Popovich with a $250,000 fine for sitting out some of his players. I wonder if he would have lied and said "these guys have the flu and I'm sending them hope so they don't infect the rest of the team" if there would have been any consequences.

He should pay the fine in pennies.

 

[abaskin18]

 

[dash]

I'm sensing that you disagree with me...

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I don't know who the Spurs play next, or if that team is good, but I hope they load up and destroy them. I want to see them rolling out their stars with five minutes to go and a seventy point lead.

 

[naslundfan19]

Totally agree dash. And the best part? Popovich could care less. He'll do it again and not give a rat's tail about a fine.

 

[elocomotive]

Totally agree dash. And the best part? Popovich could care less. He'll do it again and not give a rat's tail about a fine.

He won't give a what?

 

[naslundfan19]

You know what I, the non-swearing one, means

 

[elocomotive]

You know what I, the non-swearing one, means

I know, it just made me think of the rat tail hairstyle for the first time in like a decade.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

When I was in first grade all the boys in our class had rat tails. I don't know why I remember that, but I do. Spiked hair on top, rat tails on the back, it was like a late eighties mullet for the boy who was too cool for a mullet.

 

[abaskin18]

I'm sensing that you disagree with me...

With him.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

If Stern doesn't want teams to do this the NBA shouldn't set up their schedule with 4 games in 5 nights.

The Spurs rested guys during the season last year & Stern didn't say a word. I'm glad he's getting ripped by the media. Stern's ego is HUGE & needs to be taken down several pegs.

 

[Vadered]

Hadn't heard of this before, but when I read this article about it, one thing caught my eye.

The league has an expectation that fans paying hundreds of dollars should get what they paid for. On Friday, the Phoenix Suns announced a "satisfaction guaranteed night" next Thursday against Dallas, offering fans a rebate if they didn't enjoy their experience in what the team called a first-of-its-kind promotion in the league.

Yeah, looks like Phoenix fans don't like hoops either. Why does Arizona hate sports?


As for Stern, not that I give a damn about the NBA, but the coach can do what he wants. I sure as hell don't see Miami complaining about a chance to beat the B squad (though it sounds like they barely pulled off that). Coaches should be entitled to make decisions that they feel will benefit the team, and this clearly was one. You don't like it? Change the rules. "Contrary to the best interests of the NBA?" The NBA is best served when the best teams and smartest coaches are in the playoffs, and managing fatigue is a way to both keep a team fresh and a shrewd move.

The worst part is that I probably wouldn't even pay THIS much attention to basketball if hockey were a thing now. Fucking NHL.

 

[elocomotive]

I understand Popovich wanted to protest the schedule and he did. And I understand Stern had to send a message that you don't get to dump players in a prime game to send a message. I don't like David Stern, but to Popovich and the Spurs I have a simple message....

SACK THE FUCK UP!!

<rant>

You play basketball for a living. Oh my god, you had to work for nearly 2 hours and get on a plane four times in five days. Jesus, that sounds like... gasp... a regular fucking job. Did they at least pay you a decent salary to do ... what's that? They paid you what?!? And you are complaining?!? Fucking shut your mouths and play. You get to do the job every American would love to have - the job of being a "pro" athlete. I'll put pro in quotes because I don't see much pro in sports these days - I see basketball players that whine like pussies and then get in fights, hockey players that take every few years off, and baseball players that can't be bothered to hustle out a grounder to first even though they run less in a game than some commuters at a desk job who are late for their fucking train.

Back in the days of barnstorm baseball they played a different game in every town twice a day ALL summer long and got paid scraps for it and loved it. Because getting to play sports and be the adulation of others and making millions for it isn't really a job. And if it is really a job, it's not one you should ever, ever, ever, ever... complain about.

This isn't even a "uh, you realize there are like kids in 3rd world countries who have it tougher than you" moment. This is a "you realize there are accountants who will work twice as much as you in your self-described worst week ever" comparison moment. You're tired? Oh my god, can anyone help? Has anyone here ever worked tired before?!?!

Guess what, Spurs? I'm guessing most of you didn't do well in school so I'll help you with the math. Every team has the same number of home games... AND the same number of away games... IN the exact same amount of time. So if you have a tough schedule now, you'll get some breaks in a couple weeks. If you are on the road sooner, you'll be home more later. Oh, I see you have a 5-week span with only 2 road games in February and March. There ya go. Will you be tanking any games then in protest? Denying the home fans your inglorious presence?

I had a two-week span a few weeks back where I worked 185 hours b/c the job had to be done. Nobody was fucking paying to watch me do it. I didn't have a private jet fly me to work either, it was grueling. Other people depended on me, my employer was depending on me, and I didn't want to let them down. So I did it. And I didn't pay for my children's entire college education during that two-week span either, unlike a few of the Spurs.

David Stern IS an asshole. But that doesn't mean he's wrong.

It was a pathetic stunt for something that really isn't that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Shame on the Spurs. Shame on this pathetic "cause" they are trumpeting which is a non-issue. Or if it is an issue, not enough to make this big of a deal about it. We have to put up with these fucking work stoppages already, the last thing we need are pro athlete "protests" when they are actually playing.

</rant>

 

[elocomotive]

Coaches should be entitled to make decisions that they feel will benefit the team, and this clearly was one.

If you honestly think that then I don't think you know Gregg Popovich. This was a middle finger to Stern/league. Popovich has never cared what other people thought, which is an admirable quality in many ways. But when people pay money to come see you play, you don't get to screw the fans over at the expense of making your point.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Looks like it's too much work to answer more than two questions for Gregg Popovich as well.

 

[Vadered]

If you honestly think that then I don't think you know Gregg Popovich. This was a middle finger to Stern/league. Popovich has never cared what other people thought, which is an admirable quality in many ways. But when people pay money to come see you play, you don't get to screw the fans over at the expense of making your point.

Well, you are certainly right that I don't know Popovich. I don't follow the NBA, and I guess I just assumed that he was trying to preserve his guys, who sound old. But do the Devils issue refunds when Brodeur sits for a game? Do the Capitals reduce ticket prices when Ovechkin doesn't play any shifts after 10:00 in the third? No. The coach's job isn't to sell tickets; it's to win games. If Popovich did this just to fuck over the league, then he is being remiss in his duty to his team by not providing them with the best chance to win. If Popovich did it in order to give his stars some rest in a pretty crazy schedule, then he should not be fined.

 

[beantownmaniac]

The NBA scheduled 11 road games in November and 4 games in 5 days this past week for the Spurs. I agree 100% with Pop and hope the Spurs tell Stern to shove his fine up his ass!!!

 

[elocomotive]

Well, you are certainly right that I don't know Popovich....

If Popovich did this just to fuck over the league, then he is being remiss in his duty to his team by not providing them with the best chance to win. If Popovich did it in order to give his stars some rest in a pretty crazy schedule, then he should not be fined.

Yeah, he was doing the bold part, not some strategic part of coaching. Otherwise, why would he sit ALL of his top players at the same time? and why would he wait until the last game of the trip and not do it in the middle somewhere for a break? and why wouldn't he sit guys against the pathetic Wizards to save them for a top team like the Heat? and why would he send them completely home? Not dressed and telling them he'll only play them for 10 minutes or if needed, not just wear a suit and support your team - they went HOME to Texas while the rest of the team stayed.

This was not a "coaching decision" for the betterment of his team, this was a middle finger to David Stern. There is ample evidence of that and this is classic Poppovich (see Boss' clip above, nice one btw ).

I get that you might not be at your best in the 4th road game in 5 days, but that doesn't mean you just quit either. And do you think Stern honestly sits down and schedules all the games? Lol. I'm fairly sure he has a staff that does that and I'm sure they do the best they can. But like I said, you play sports for a living. You don't work in a coal mine. You can work 4 out of 5 days - it won't kill you.

 

[dash]

I get that you might not be at your best in the 4th road game in 5 days, but that doesn't mean you just quit either.

The funny thing though is up until the final minute they were leading the game (and for the record, I'm not a Spurs fan, I hate that flopping puke Ginobili). I didn't see much quit in the Spurs team that took the floor that night.

As for Stern saying that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and its fans, the bottom line is that we as fans are just not that important. If you need an example of how unimportant fans are, just look at the current NHL lockout (as well as the just barely in the rearview mirror NBA lockout). Players play for themselves and their teammates and a coaches' job is to win games/championships and look out for the health and well-being of his players. As the old saying for coaches goes, when you start listening to the fans in the seats, you soon become one of the fans in the seats.

Players get rested during the season all the time. Position players in MLB take several days off during a season (yes even star players). Should Bud Selig bring down sanctions when John Gibbons gives Jose Bautista a day off on the road and denies the fans in Oakland a chance to see Joey Bats? Late in the season when teams have locked up playoff positions, coaches rest a ton of their star players to hopefully prevent injury and give them rest. I realize that's not exactly the same situation, but fans also don't receive a discount for those late season games either that are missing star players.

The only thing Popovich did wrong in this situation was being brutally honest. He could have use a mystery flu, or that these players were late for a team meeting, or broke curfew and he was handing down punishment as he sees fit. After all, he is the coach of the team and it is well within his perogative to dole out punishment for player transgressions.

I can't believe I wrote this long of a post about the NBA. I'm blaming the NHL lockout and Bettman.

 

[dash]

By the way eloco, although we don't agree on this topic, that was a hell of a post above.