Becoming more persuaded by Heat’s chances

They got a center and a shooter in Ilgauskas and Miller. But who’s distributing the ball? And can you name a champion without someone coming off the bench? I remain unconvinced that the Heat are the favorites to win next year. I suppose they are starting to convince some guys to play for less money in order to win a championship. But still, Jordan’s Bulls had B.J. Armstrong and John Paxson dishing the ball. Can Mike Miller do anything but shoot? Can he pass? Can he defend? The Heat are not a complete team. They will score a lot, but will they keep Kobe and Gasol from scoring just as much? Not for 7 games.

At this point, Lebron James will be playing point guard. I don’t see that assuaging any hatred from Cleveland for embarrassing them on national TV.

The one guaranteed thing is that the Heat will be fun to root against.

Why do people who don’t like soccer have to create some political reason to do so?

Forget about the fact that this guy doesn’t link to anyone that actually fulfills his stereotype. I’m sure some people would argue about the great diversity that exists in soccer over and against that of American sports, but that would be stupid because anyone with eyes knows that American sports are very very diverse. Nevertheless, this guy doesn’t actually link to those straw men, so let’s forget he didn’t.

Instead, I’m going to argue why I love the World Cup rather than why I think he’s wrong for trying to argue something I, as someone who probably fits his stereotype in other ways, never disputed.

Manute Bol, little Christ

I don’t know how devout Manute Bol (1962-2010) was, but I understand he was a Christian. His actions in his adult life exemplify my understanding of the Christian life. According to St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, Christ gave up his riches and his life for those he loved. He also, according to the Gospels, gave up his dignity by undergoing embarrassment and dying on a tree, a sign of being cursed in the Torah.

How bad were the Mavericks of the early 90s? Does the name Mike Iuzzolino ring a bell?

Maybe the reason I never really got into NBA Jam in 1993 was because my home team had the two man lineup of… Derek Harper and Mike Iuzzolino. Derek Harper was a good player, but a point guard can only get you so far if the next best player on your team is another point guard (5’10”) who was in the league for 2 years.

Sports-Hate and Scandal

Bill Simmons (as someone close to me calls “The Idiot Savant of the Mediocre”) published this article last week explaining his dwindling sports-hate of Kobe, Payton, and A-Rod. He claims that he is gaining respect for them so he can’t sports-hate them as much.

Well, that doesn’t jibe with me. For instance, the person I sports-hate more than any other is Dwayne Wade.