I’ve always been a fan of old stadiums and arenas. To me, nothing beats seeing a game at the Garden or sitting in the sun watching the Cubs at Wrigley Field. I think sports venues with history and tradition have more character and makes attending games more meaningful. Nowadays, it’s all about luxury boxes, waterslides in the outfield and Hard Rock Cafe’s inside the arenas. I know it’s business, but I’m kind of indifferent to new arenas. Read More »
With the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony taking place today, we wanted to give the true diehard fans of the Dime Magazine community an opportunity to write about the 2009 class. Dime reader and Chicago native Jason Oliver, better known to you as “smity far away,” shares his thoughts on Michael Jordan:
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It’s hard to say something about Mike Jordan that hasn’t already been said by much more established and accomplished men. But Mike’s impact and influence on basketball means as much to me as Pac’s impact on music and Malcolm’s impact on ethnic empowerment. Read More »
For every idiot/moron/stupid/crazy/you-should-be-fired/you-should-die (seriously) insult I took after writing that Michael Jordan is overrated, the only time I ever felt dumb was later that same night I wrote the column, when NBA TV aired a Lakers/Clippers game from 1979.
While the re-run was meant to showcase Magic Johnson in his first NBA game, the star of the show was the one guy who I somehow failed to mention when listing players who could challenge Jordan for the Greatest of All-Time crown: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Read More »
“Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player that ever lived. I mean, people say he was less than a god, but more than a man. You know, like Hercules or something!”
– Benny Rodriguez, The Sandlot
In this game, Hercules goes by the name Michael Jordan. Except for those who are old enough to have seen Wilt or Russell or Oscar play in their primes, there is little argument that MJ is the greatest basketball player that ever lived. How little? Mike is the only player who you can refer to simply as “G.O.A.T.” and everybody knows exactly who you’re talking about. And yet, over time I’ve come to learn one almost unbelievable truth: Read More »
Even more than in last week’s Orlando summer league, we’re seeing a trend develop in Vegas: The star rookies aren’t just getting the green light to fire away, they’re having the entire offense run through them. Guys like Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan are getting 20-plus shots a day, and consider these are shorter games where almost everyone else on the court is trying to earn an NBA job … In yesterday’s big head-to-head matchup, Steph and Tyreke were like Allen Iverson and Steve Francis circa 2001: Curry put up 29 points (8-22 FG, 10-11 FT) and six boards, while Evans had 25 points (8-19 FG, 7-12 FT), 10 boards and five assists. Read More »
There’s a debate going in Major League Baseball circles about re-naming the Cy Young award (best pitcher in each league) after Satchel Paige, the reasons for which you can read HERE.
Taking it to basketball, it’s time to look at some of the NBA’s trophies and consider re-naming them, or giving them a name in the first place. The Finals MVP just got the Bill Russell stamp this year, so that’s not going anywhere. And the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year trophy will never change, no matter how many rings Phil Jackson collects. Read More »
Everybody has their opinion on how and why the Magic lost Game 4 and, ultimately, their shot at a championship. Take FOXSports’ Edgy And Controversial token Jason Whitlock, who echoes the most common reaction by putting the blame on Stan Van Gundy:
Van Gundy is responsible for one of the greatest choke jobs in NBA playoff history. If he had any pride, he’d resign today and let Patrick Ewing coach Game 5 on Sunday.
In the modern era, the question of who’s the all-time greatest big man in the NBA often starts with Shaquille O’Neal, and then proceeds to include Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. But without ESPN Classic, it’s hard for many young NBA fans to grasp how good the “old school” centers really were.
Today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar weighed in on the debate. Read More »
47 years ago, on March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain achieved the impossible. Obliterating his previous NBA scoring record of 78 points set less than three months earlier, Wilt shot 36-for-63 from the field and 28-for-32 from the line (remarkable, considering his career free throw percentage was 51%) to reach the century mark. Read More »
