Come On Son

Professional sports is full of great moments that become stories to tell your grandkids; yet there are also moments in sports that make everyone scratch their heads. These wild and wacky moments are usually an intriguing statement from an athlete or coach, or something different that somebody did. These moments have gone from stories your local newspaper writers would release in a book they wrote down to 10 moments that can be found on Sports Center's Not Top 10 every Friday. Yet that all being said, there are only a few moments that are truly head scratching that are going to make this list.

First up: Scottie Pippen says Lebron James could be considered the best player in NBA history.

Come on Son.

That title, and six O Brien trophies, all belong to this guy.

Let's ignore the fact that Pippen slammed his former teammate that he won six rings with during their days with the Chicago Bulls and move to the facts. 

First of all, Michael Jordan ranks 3rd in the NBA's all time scoring list with 32,292 points compared to Lebron's 17,362. Lebron's total is not good enough to crack the top 70 (James sits in 73rd). 

Second, James is having a strong playoffs this year because he is averaging 26 points per game, 8.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game: which are all good numbers. However, that is still lower than Michael Jordan's worst line of 29.3, 5.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game, in his entire playoff career. Jordan also has a NBA record 33.1 points per game average in the playoffs and James does not. 

Third, Michael Jordan has never lost in the NBA Finals and accumulated six finals most valuable player awards; while King James has only been to the finals once before this year. Jame's first trip ended with a loss to the San Antonio Spurs in 4 games in the 2007 Finals. The ring count still remains 6-0 in favor of Jordan and even if the Heat beat the Mavericks in the Finals this year, James would still need 5 more rings to catch Jordan. 

Now James is a better passer than Jordan ever was, but in terms of greatness and success when it matters most, Lebron James is nothing like Mike.

Second: Drew Brees saying that the owners "saw blood in the water" when former NFL Players association director Gene Upshaw passed away in 2008.

Come on Son

Although this statement has some validity due to Upshaw's relationship with NFL owners, Drew Brees did not help the players cause by saying this. This statement will be analyzed for a day, then, like all of the other things players and owners have been saying about the situation, it will become just another example of the public mud slinging that is usually reserved for presidential elections. The players angle for this entire lockout has been trying to make the owners look like an oppressive business. Yet the fact remains, that angle does not work when they get paid more money a year to play a sport than most of us will make working for our entire lives.

And one other part of the quote that caught my eye for all the wrong reasons,

" we're going to stand up for what is right and what is fair. Fifty-fifty is fair..."

If the players or the owners really wanted to do this 50-50, then their lawyers would split the nine billion dollars in television revenue evenly to four point five billion dollars to each side no problem. But greed just does not work that way.

So the bottom line is simple and one that I have re stated through out the 74 days of this Lockout: Sorry Brees, but nobody cares about the legal issues as long as both sides kiss and make up so you can play football starting September 8th.

Third: The amount of scandal in college football is worse today than it has ever been.

Come on Son




Anyone who has seen "Pony Excess" by ESPN's 30-30 film series knows how bad college football used to be back in the late 1960's and 1970's. This film series follows the rise and fall of Southern Methodist University and how they successfully bribed star running backs Eric Dickerson and Craig James by giving them the newest cars in order to recruit them both to SMU. But it was not just SMU that used such techniques to bribe recruits. It was the norm for members of the Big Twelve Conference, including respected Universities such as Texas and TCU, offered bribes that far exceed the free tatoos that Ohio State Quarterback Terrelle Pryor got.
The amount of money and illegal benefits that players received during the hight of the SMU football team was far greater than the violations today, but the reason that people see so much scandal in the NCAA is because of the media coverage. The difference between the media back in SMU's times and the media today could not be more drastic. Most of the benefits those players got back then still have not reached the surface, even with ESPN reporters doing enough digging to make an hour long movie. Today, if a player so much as looks at an agent, he gets found out immediately because the 24 hour media is omnipresent and looking for athletes to mess up.
But the biggest reason for all this scandal is because players are not allowed to get any slice of the money pie while they are in college. The NCAA and the schools these athletes are attending take all of the money generated from the players image and hide behind the notion that these players are amateur athletes. But based on the amount of television revenue that they generate suggests other wise. If the NCAA and schools really wanted to cut down on the scandal, they would figure out some fair way to pay the players. ESPN college football analyst Jon Ritchie suggested that schools hold autograph sessions to their fans that enables the players to receive money for their image. That is an interesting suggestion that could be a good starting point, but the money gap between players and their bosses needs to be bridged. 

Players (Right) to the NCAA and Athletic Directors (left)

Finally to Baseball: Los Angeles Dodger Outfielder Andre Ethier Flips off a cameraman and then claims the camera man was being inconsiderate.

Come on Son.




With the glitz, glamor, and Hollywood backdrop of Los Angeles, people are going to put their professional athletes under microscopes. And Andre Ethier is no exception. Every single person has would be envious of the six million dollars in guaranteed money that Ethier is making this year. I do not buy that Ethier's lame excuse that the cameras were throwing off his timing in batting practice. He had been in a horrible slump at the time of the incident, going 0-17 during the few games prior to the incident. If anything, Ethier needed to be distracted from how poorly he was hitting. 
Also, Ethier seems to have a lack of knowledge as far as how the distribution of photos by paid cameramen work. The cameraman only takes the pictures to present to their publication or television show. Once the cameramen present their findings, then their superiors presents their work to the media outlet that distributes the pictures. What Ethier primarily suggests is what fans do when they go to batting practice early looking to get a glimpse at their favorite players. Imagine, going to batting practice to see your favorite Los Angeles Dodger flip you off because you were "distracting". However, if Ethier had done this to a fan, he would have been hauled up to the general manager's office to discuss his conduct. Out of the incidences on this list, Ethier's is the least offensive, but still was head scratching.




Every sport has it's ugly side, but none of these incidences are physically or really emotionally harmful to those of us who follow them. Rather, these are a gathering of things athletes and analysts say that make us scratch our collective heads. And because of the lackluster personalities of analysts and the egos of the athletes, the collective sports head remains itchy.