Shaq and the NBA's good old days

OAKLAND -- Call him what you will --
Diesel, the Big Socrates, or by his name, Shaq. It doesn't matter, if
you don't call him finished. Which people were doing a few months back
in describing Shaquille O'Neal.



Finished? "I've been watching him since he was 15," said Alvin Gentry. "He's never been finished. You saw what he can do."



And what the Phoenix Suns can do. Which is what the critics said they never could do with Shaq in the lineup: run.

   

Turn a basketball game into a track meet. As the Suns did Sunday night,
beating the Golden State Warriors, 154-130. Without any overtimes.

  

It was like the good old days when the NBA was a league of grace, glory
and points, like the days before the game became one of shoving and
bumping and scores in the 90s or the 80s, something more resembling
wrestling than basketball.

   

Phoenix picked up Shaq in a trade just about a year ago, intending to
add muscle to speed. When the plan didn't work, the critics sneered.

    

Shaq and Steve Nash? That's like trying to blend Santa Claus and Tinkerbell.

   

"He's a proud guy," Gentry said of O’Neal. "Everybody felt he was done.
But as you can see, he's still a huge factor. He gives us the best of
both worlds. We can run or we can set up. If you don't double-team him,
he goes inside. If you do, he passes off. Arguably, he's the best big
man who ever played in this league."

   

Against the Warriors, in his second game in two nights – Saturday the
Suns were home against Oklahoma City – 37-year-old Shaq O'Neal,
7-foot-1, 325 pounds, played a few seconds less than 24 minutes and had
26 points. He was 11-of-13 from the field, 4-of-9 from the free throw
line.

   

"I accept all challenges," said O'Neal.

    

He is sitting in front of his locker, looking bemused. The man has a
great sense of humor. Also of timing. As we saw when he danced at the
opening of the All-Star Game program before he became the co-MVP with
Kobe Bryant.

 

"People have been saying I can't do this, can't do that," said O'Neal.
"I have four championships. I would like to get two or three more."

  

The Warriors couldn't match up against Shaq, not with their 7-footer,
Andris Biedrins, recovering from a sprained ankle. The Warriors
couldn't match up against the Suns. Phoenix had 120 points at the end
of three quarters. Say all you want about defense, but offense like
this is delightful.

  

The late Wilt Chamberlain told us again and again, "Nobody roots for
Goliath," and it's true there's a tendency to favor a smaller guy
against a bigger one. But Shaq is lovable, a jester, and for the heck
of it he has a master's degree. He's easy to cheer for.

   

Years ago, in the same building where the Suns crushed the Warriors,
Shaq, then with the Los Angeles Lakers, was telling about his life's
objectives during a break from a late-morning practice.

  

"I'd like to be somebody like Larry Ellison," said O'Neal, alluding to
the head of Oracle, the dot-com giant located down the highway in
Silicon Valley. "Now there's a man with real money."

   

Maybe someday, Shaq responded when reminded of the comment. That still
was a goal. If not quite as realistic as again scoring 40 points, which
he did against Toronto, becoming the third in NBA history to do it in
the uniform of four different teams.

 

A year ago, Shaq averaged 12.9 points in the 28 games he played for the
Suns. "A lot of people thought I lost it," he conceded. "I was injured.
It's kind of funny, when people say I'm injured nobody really believes
me. This is my 17th season, but I've really only played about 13
seasons because of the injuries. I have years left."

   

Earlier in March, one of Shaq's numerous former coaches, Stan Van Gundy
of Miami, whined about O’Neal "flopping" in the lane to draw a foul.
Shaq, the gentle giant, was less than gentle in his reaction.

 

"I heard his comment," Shaq said of Van Gundy. "Flopping to me is doing
it more than one time, and I realized when I tried to take the charge
as I went down, I realized that play reminded me of his whole coaching
career."

 

O'Neal had a better relationship with Warriors coach Don Nelson, for
whom he played on the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. "He was my sixth man,"
said Nelson. "He asked me if he could come off the bench. I said fine.
I love him to death."

  

If Nelson, who eventually was ejected Sunday night with a couple of
quick technical fouls, didn't love what Shaq did to his team. Finished?
Shaquille O'Neal's only just begun.



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© RealClearSports 2009

For A's, the Wolff is at the door

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The problem for the
Oakland Athletics is they were always confronting themselves, not to
mention the rest of us, with a conflict of bad ideas.



First was the ridiculous one to put tarps on the third-deck seats, as
if, borrowing from that not-so-wise bird the ostrich, what we couldn't
see wasn't there.



Then -- or did this come first? -- was the plan by owner Lew Wolff, a
real estate mogul, to erect a "village" that would contain a ballpark,
somewhere east of Eden and west of the sun. Well, in Fremont, 20 miles
from Oakland, but what's the difference?



Then in those whiny, pouting, "You don't know what I can do to you"
ways Wolff loves to impose, he complained last season nobody paid
attention to the A's, despite a surprisingly good start. And that more
people went to the games of the Giants, who weren't playing nearly as
well as his A's.



Wolff may have been the frat bro of baseball commissioner Bud Selig,
but Lew understands neither the game nor the people who support it, or
in his case fail to do as much.



You don't go around figuratively kicking fans in the teeth, whether
it's effectively telling them they're ignorant or attempting to confuse
them by trading away the talent or stealing away the franchise to
never-never land.



There are a great many individuals who would like to tell Lew what they
think, but only the folks like Lew, who don't have to listen to a boss
but are the boss, have that privilege.



What he told us Friday was Oakland (the town) stinks, and he'd go
anywhere else, including San Jose. If possible. But, ho, ho, it's not
possible.



Given the current state of the economy, the fact the Giants do hold
territorial rights down there at the south end of the bay and a place
like Sacramento has a better chance to losing the NBA Kings than it
does of acquiring the A's, Mr. Wolff is without the only thing that
means anything in his world: Leverage.

   

We concede that McAfee Coliseum isn't AT&T Park. But there are
worse venues. BART stops at the Coliseum. For day games the sun shines
at the Coliseum. And with the upper deck untarped and a crowd of at
least 20,000 there is a nice feel to the place.

   

"Our attendance and low number of season ticket holders (both one of
the lowest in Major League Baseball)," Wolff proclaimed in a statement,
"also continues to decline when our on-field performance produced
playoff participation."

  

Does Wolff need to be reminded the A's in 2007 and 2008 had losing records and were out of the race by July?

   

That those seasons they dumped almost every player who was recognizable by someone other than his own mother?

  

That continual hints of dragging the team to Fremont created negative feedback from a fan base already whipsawed?

  

Oakland, the city, hardly has been guiltless in this scenario, with
former mayor Jerry ("I know nothing about baseball except they don't
punt on fourth down") Brown preferring to build lofts in old warehouses
rather than a ballpark.

   

But lo, the current jefe, Ron Dellums, authored on Friday -- or at
least signed -- a letter to Wolff outlining the city's intent to
provide the A's a new home.

   

This was met instantly with a back-of-the-hand response from Wolff and
his minions, who spitefully answered the Oakland plea by saying, "We
have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with Oakland
dating back to the previous A's ownership.



" ... Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an aging and
shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities but
do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."



In other words, nyah, nyah.



So, Lew, sell the team. Oh, nobody else wants it, at least until the market reaches 9,000 again?



These are tough times, as you know, and not just in the sporting business.



Journalism is dying as a profession. The New York Times said in two years there might not be a major city with a newspaper still printing. The auto companies are laying off thousands.



Who's going to buy a ball club?



The A's this late winter of '09 have given us a reason to think they
might be both interesting and contending, what with the addition of
Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra
along with the maturing of a seemingly decent pitching staff. Then
along comes the man in charge who says, "B'gone, with all of you."



Lew Wolff is angry because he couldn't get what he wanted. What A's
fans want is assurance their team will be not only worth watching but
playing where they should be, in Oakland, new park or old.

Warriors fans can be faulted for their passion

OAKLAND,  Calif. -- The crowd wasn't a sellout, but it was large.
Maybe too large. And too passionate. The Golden State Warriors arguably
have the best fans in pro basketball.




To their great disadvantage.




We had a brief interlude, a fling, a couple of years ago. The Warriors,
ending their seasons of silence, qualified for the playoffs, even
stunned the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Hysteria. Elation.




But it's all in the past.




The Warriors are a bad team once again as this NBA season of '08-'09
wobbles toward the end, a bad team whose coach and star seemingly are
forever in conflict. And yet people don't seem to care.




Because they care too much for the Warriors. And so management resists change.




Don Nelson continues to coach, even if at times he seems rather bothered by the whole idea, other than having a seat of power.




Monta Ellis continues to confront Nelson, contradicting virtually everything Nellie puts forth.




And Chris Mullin continues as general manager, even if through
machinations by Nelson and president Robert Rowell, Mully's viewpoints
are of little consequence.




A mess. Except at the box office. Where it counts the most in pro sports.




Wednesday night, the Warriors played the New Jersey Nets at Oracle
Arena. Beat them, too, 116-112. Before 18,203 fans, who showed up to
scream and hoot and holler for a team that came into the game with
exactly twice as many defeats (42) as victories (21).




Fans who won't be deterred by reality. Fans apparently oblivious to the
private little war between the coach with the dictator's philosophy and
the player, Ellis, with the rebel's brazenness.




Fans who refuse to desert a team that will fail to get to the post-season for the 14th time in 15 years.




The Warriors are the little soap opera that isn't good enough for prime
time but nevertheless can't be ignored. A year ago it was Nellie and
Baron Davis at war, and noting what the Baron has done with the
Clippers, the situation up here could be worse.




This time it's Nellie and Monta. Not to mention Nellie and Jamal Crawford.




Ellis was back from his travels, not to be confused with traveling,
having returned from his home in Mississippi, missing the previous
seven games because of (take your pick) stiffness in the ankle he
injured during the summer in that moped accident or because he was
visiting his sick mother. Nelson said it was the former, Monta the
latter.




"Monta complained three different times, three different games that he
had soreness in his ankle," Nelson insisted before Ellis went out and
picked up 19 points and six assists against the Nets.




"He missed a few games, then he was supposed to come back to us, and he went to visit his mother and that's the story."




Not according to Ellis, who reiterated an earlier statement, "I told you I went to see my mom."




Nelson also said the Warriors would be ridding themselves of Jamal
Crawford, acquired in a trade from the Knicks for Al Harrington,
because Crawford makes $8 or $9 million, too much for a backup guard.




That was before the game. Before Crawford scored 19 points, 15 in the
fourth quarter. "He did most of his damage when running the point,"
conceded Nelson, who explained Crawford had been with the Warriors some
50 games, as if it was about time Jamal did something. Other than toss
in 50 earlier in the schedule.




Nellie has told others he is happiest at games, moving players in and
out, shouting instructions, that practice is as much work for him as
the athletes, not surprising when you've been coaching for decades.




The question might be whether this indeed is Nelson's team or a team
that Nelson tolerates and attempts to maneuver to his own pleasure. It
has long been accepted Nellie doesn't like using rookies, although now
in this season without hope the Warriors are starting Anthony Randolph
at forward.




Don Nelson can be gruff. Don Nelson can be impatient. He's done this
work a long time -- some might say too long -- and there's not a
mistake he hasn't seen or a reporter's irritating question he hasn't
heard.




Asked if the morale on the Warriors, considering the Ellis affair and
the conversation he had with Crawford about the future or lack of same,
is acceptable, Nelson responded immediately.


 


"It's acceptable when you consider the kind of year we've had," said
the coach. "We've won 21 ballgames (now 22), and we've worked hard to
keep the attitude and the morale good. I can't say it's been perfect
but overall it's been very good -- one of the few things we've done
well this year."




Along with packing the house with the best fans in basketball.

Spring Training Radio Network: Audio from March 7, 2009 appearance

Art joins host George Allen (along with Ferguson Jenkins, Fred Stanley,
Jerry Coleman, and others) to talk about the upcoming baseball season.



Listen here

RealClearSports: The Dreaded New York State of Mind

By Art Spander



Alex Rodriguez underwent hip surgery. After admitting he took steroids.
Oh, you knew all that? Sorry. I forgot. Whatever happens in New York,
unlike Vegas, doesn't stay in New York.



It inundates virtually all of the free world.



We know the lyric, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
What the New York media make of almost every occurrence east of the
Hudson River is far too much.



At least for the rest of us, meaning the other 49 states and the territory of Puerto Rico.



The theory posited here is tabloids are in a large way responsible for
the creation of a great sports town. New York and environs have three
of those babies. And each offers sports on the back of the paper.



Providing some absolutely captivating headlines -- "HIP WRECK," "DOPE
OPERA" and "HIP-HOPE" were three on A-Rod's torn labrum -- and a
measure of overkill.



The non-tabloid New York daily, yes the Times, briefly was able to step
back from the Rodriguez story with a reflection on Terrell Owens, the
receiver who as at each stop previously, San Francisco and
Philadelphia, outlived his welcome and was waived by the Dallas Cowboys.



Almost immediately, T.O. was signed by the Buffalo Bills -- poor
devils; they'll learn -- but the Times piece was how he should have
been acquired by the New York Jets.



New Yorkers delight in pointing out their degree of sporting
sophistication, but in reality they are no less provincial than the
residents of Denver or Cincinnati. In fact, they are more.



And because three of the TV networks, the primary wire service and four
major papers are located there, the country invariably is set up to
believe if it's not the Yankees who count it's the Mets. It certainly
isn't either the Knicks or the Nets.



Third basemen. A-Rod is one. So is Eric Chavez of the Oakland
Athletics. He's attempting to recover from his own injuries and Monday
unexpectedly was not able to start as a position player for the first
time this spring.



Did anyone notice? Not in New York. It was more of the same. More of A-Rod.



The imbalance is startling. The Phillies won the World Series over the
Rays. Pittsburgh and Arizona played in the Super Bowl. Last year's NBA
finals matched the Celtics and Lakers, and this year's very well could
do the same. In the Stanley Cup finals, the Detroit Red Wings defeated
the Pittsburgh Penguins.



Not a New York team among the group. But New York hype and self-loathing was everywhere we looked.



When Rodriguez, after consultations, decided to have his hip partially
repaired immediately instead of waiting, the New York Daily News,
paraphrasing Derek Jeter, headlined WE WILL SURVIVE. They might, but
will anybody else?



No ill will is wished for A-Rod, an MVP, a star, but the coming days in
the New York press will be devoted almost entirely to his recovery.
Sure, room will be found for the NFL draft, of Giants and Jets variety
that is, but be forewarned. Basically the next five months will be
Rodriguez and more Rodriguez.



Of course it's a conspiracy. Had A-Rod stayed with the Mariners, with
whom he entered the majors, or with the Rangers, we would barely know
of the man. The $252 million contract he signed with Texas did raise
him a bit out of the ordinary, but nothing like being a member of the
Yankees.



You recall that Alex and his agent, the dreaded Scott Boras, explored
the idea of joining the Red Sox. That would have been a hoot.



The pieces never would have fit together the way they do in New York,
the tabloids, the critics, the Yankees' inability to advance to the
World Series or last season even to the playoffs.



New York is in love with itself. As depicted in that historic New
Yorker magazine cover, the people perceive everything beyond Manhattan
and the Bronx as wasteland.



An oft-repeated axiom is that while at other locations everything works
but nothing matters, in New York very little works and everything
matters.



With that sense of entitlement, as it were, New Yorkers hurl their
thoughts and preferences at the rest of us, who have spent a lifetime
trying unsuccessfully to avoid them.



At the moment, A-Rod doesn't work, and to the news folk gleefully
observing the situation that matters more than anything else in sports.



It's difficult to determine whether Alex Rodriguez is a bigger story
playing or not playing. We are about to find out. Unfortunately.



As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports
history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his
long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has
earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has
recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of
America for 2009.



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http://www.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/03/the_dreaded_new_york_state_of.html

© RealClearSports 2009