The John Thompson Show 3-7p on Sportstalk 980 in DC is perhaps the greatest sports talk radio show of all time. That’s not saying much of course, considering the sorry state of the medium. Know-nothings like Jim Rome dominate the airwaves by shouting “Rack Him!” incessantly.

Nonetheless, JT 2’s show is unbelievable not only for Thompson’s cantankerous old-guy attitude, but because he has all the connections to get all the good guests. Instead of John Clayton, et al calling in (the old analyst interviewing another analyst routine) real players and other figures that are legitimately connected with the world of sports are interviewed.

The other day NBA Commisioner David Stern was on. He had a lot he could gloat about, but Stern was fairly low-key as always. The dress code has transformed from controversial deprival of freedom to non-stop pre-game fashion show. Even Rip Hamilton who normally resembles a Tupperware Darth Vader looks sharp in an expensive suit. It turned out to be a brilliant move for King Midas.

So what’s next for the great tinkerer? Stern hinted at something that might be coming down the pike, something I’d applaud: stopping the players from ####ing about foul calls all the time.  The Commissioner admitted that there were missed calls, but thinks that the constant whining is unattractive to the game and I agree. Kids emulate players like LeBron. LeBron complains after every single call that goes against him. You think this isn’t going to have an effect? Do you want your kids’ role model to be a cry-baby?

Superman never complained, even when Lex Luthor hit him with the Kryptonite. John Wayne never appeared in a movie called “The PMS Cowboy.” And even the legitimate sports Superheroes didn’t #### and whine even when they had much better reasons than perpetual complaint machine TO.

Lou Gehrig didn’t get up to the microphone in his last appearance at Yankee Stadium and say, “It’s not fair! Why can’t somebody else die instead? I’m Lou Gehrig!” Jackie Robinson endured endless racist words and death threats. Mario Lemieux has been battling a crippling illness and doesn’t moan about it on or off the ice.

So can David Stern shut these spoiled brats up before every picture of an NBA game looks like a birthday party at Jeepers? I hope so, because when you’re on TV, the World is watching. And I don’t want the world to think we’re a bunch of babies.

    Somewhere right now Steve Kerr is saying, “These are the best playoffs I’ve ever seen.” He may even be sleeping, but he’ll still say it once or twice. Even without Kerr’s frothings some of us have thought the same thing throughout this year’s NBA playoffs.
    The NBA has already completed five memorable and competitive series if you count Nets-Pacers. Of course it was impossible to see Nets-Pacers because it was mostly on NBA-TV which is only available in Guam. The NFL Network is on my digital cable setup (they’re currently showing the Hamburg Sea Devils at the Amsterdam Admirals) along with 500 other channels including the Bloomberg Channel (log any time with that one?) Somehow NBA TV was not able to squeeze in. So lets make that four memorable series, and countless memorable moments.

    Is Brent Barry’s 3-pointer still bouncing on the rim? Did LeBron really cop a feel of Arenas, or was he just trying to rip out his heart (again)? Nobody’s surprised to see Kobe hit the clutch shot but how about Tim “Left by the Curb” Thomas?
    That was just the first round. Now we have three game 7s within the space of 36 hours. This feast is a basketball binge that rivals the first two days of the NCAA tournament. Except the players, coaches, teams and even the fans are even better. After MJ retired for the 3rd or 4th time, pundits were crying about the lack of star power in the NBA.
    How many potential MVP’s are playing in the next two days? Eight--James, Billups, Nash, Brand, Duncan, Parker, Marion and Nowitski. Then there are two of the best defensive players of all time (Ben Wallace and Bruce Bowen) two guys who stepped up and threw down (Michael Finley and Raja Bell) and one guard who looks decidedly like a hammerhead shark (don’t make me say it).

 

    So who do you think is going to make the moment? LeBron again? Dirk? Steve Nash? Maybe, but it could be all of the above and more. I hope it’s a crazy and controversial sprint to the tape. Because there are two more rounds to go to build the case that Steve Kerr has not lost his mind. Three more 7s to add to the legend of Playoffs ’06--let it roll.

Good luck to everybody in the NGS 2 selection tomorrow!

With all the fuss about LeBron “King” James these days it’s easy to forget about the only team that’s already in the conference finals—the Miami Heat. You may think of Shaq O’Neal first when you think of the Heat. But Shaquille is fading more into the role of icon than the role of center. His minutes are limited; he’s pulling a steady 31 minutes a game. Shaq’s points are pedestrian, just topping 18. His rebounding is slowing as the years and the playoff wear him down; he averaged just over 7 for the Nets series. Pundits talk about Shaq’s “presence,” but the Heat’s payroll department must be contemplating his absence.

Once again we’re ignoring the player who has stepped up more than any other in this playoffs. (That’s right, including LeBron who’s 8 turnovers and 2 missed free throws at the end of game 4 were not exactly clutch.) That player is Dwyane “Flash” Wade, Miami’s quiet superstar.

Nike hasn’t dropped $90 million on Dwyane and that means that the international hype machine that brought you the messianic “Witness” ads isn’t behind the Miami guard. Wade’s Converse deal isn’t going to get him 10-story Big Brother-like Witness posters that block out light in every apartment in Cleveland. Nor will it buy an Industrial Light and Magic ad that features several unfunny Wade clones. Rather, Flash has had to make his own noise on the basketball court--and it’s been a thunderstorm.

This year Wade has been unstoppable in the playoffs. His unprecedented quickness to the rim and highlight reel finishes have been his bread and butter for years. These playoffs he’s began to do what critics (such as myself) have cited as a hole in his game. Wade shot the three at a paltry 17% clip during the season. It’s not that DWade is not dropping the bomb so much these playoffs, he’s just hitting it more. Somehow he’#### 50% from three, which is enough of a taste for perimeter defenders to have to stick a bit closer. All the better to be victimized by Dwyane’s clever crossover or his straight ahead blinding speed.

Wade has also continued his playmaking from the regular season. Most people don’t even realize what a talented assist man that Dwyane is. With all of the mega-hype that LeBron gets about his passing, Wade averaged more assists this season. Flash’s highlight-reel pass in the lane was fodder for SportsCenter. But Wade obsessively breaks down defenses with his patented speed and guile, subverting the collapsing lane with a deft dime.

I think what has most sold me on Wade’s game is his over-arching athleticism. When I see #3 knifing to the peach basket I remember Michael Jordan—with hair. There is artistry to dunking, but it’s also a tool for psychological warfare. Wade’s throw-downs are beautiful and vicious. When Dwyane Wade drops from the rim, AmericanAirlines Arena explodes…or an opponent’s arena deflates. The relentlessness of his game takes mental toughness, something the New Jersey Nets had too little of. Wade didn’t end the Nets with a dunk however; he did it with a patented steal (he’s thieving more than 2 a game in the playoffs.)

What’s also forgotten is that Dwyane Wade has accomplished more than the highly touted “King” James. He won a playoff series his first year in the league as LeBron went home. He’s headed to his second conference finals, and LeBron still may not experience his first. Wade is the heart and soul of the Heat in the same way that LeBron carries the Cavs. It’s funny that such a special player is sneaking up on the playoffs, but somehow Wade is doing just that. Would a James/Wade Eastern Conference Finals duel be unbelievable theatre? No doubt. But for now we only know for sure that one of those players will be there; it’s time to get to know him.

I was poking around the Eastern Conference Websites last night to see if I coulde get any insight into the teams’ philosophies. Three of the four remaining franchises had catch-phases that were telling. The fourth had no catch-phrase, which said volumes in and of itself.

The Cavs website displayed a pregame team photo with a mish-mosh of players facing in different directions. At the bottom of the photo it reads, “All for one, one for all.” This led me to wonder, “Who are the other two Musketeers?” Then I read the phrase again and it all made sense: “All for LeBron, LeBron for all.” The Orwellian undertones of LeBronist world domination was too creepy for me. I moved on to the New Jersey Nets.

At the top of the Nets’ website was a banner filled with buzzwords. Highlighted was the phrase “Attitude—Bring It!” This reminded me of Vince Carter’s approach to the NBA. A lot of “attitude” not much discipline. Luckily for the Nets, Jason Kidd probably isn’t too worried about attitude, he’s just going to bring it.

The Heat website didn’t have a catchphrase. Instead, they featured 5 different photos of the Heat dancers. The dance team apparently won NBA.com’s “Dance Bracket.” Basketball is relegated to a sidelight in Miami. It’s as though the Heat organization has already conceded the NBA championship in order to focus on its Dance Team Dynasty.

The Pistons’ web site was a different story. One word is plastered everywhere—Teamwork. Teamwork seemed like quaint anachronism before the Pistons resurrected the concept in the 2004 Championship season. This year they’ve been embodying teamwork yet again. When you look at their points per game, it’s as balanced as you’re going to find. Hamilton averages 20 points a game, Billups 18.5, Sheed 15, and Prince 14. Five more players average over 5 a game. They are also taking the no-frills job of playing great defense to heart. Ben Wallace’s leadership on D has garnered him a record-tying 4^th Defensive Player of the Year award. But he’s just the biggest and scariest part of the team defense concept. Big Ben in the middle allows Billups to be more aggressive with the ball handler, and improves the perimeter defense in general. If you have to funnel them into Ben’s territory, he’s got the athleticism to get there with the help. If you need him outside on LeBron, he can stay with him and force him in to jump shots. Then Rasheed can use his size (6’11”) to swat the shots on his own.

The Pistons have already captured one championship through their teamwork philosophy, and I find it to be the most attractive catch phrase in the Eastern Conference. I wonder what’s on the Spurs’ website?

I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, "Don't let the door hit you in the #### on your way out." Parents have to take better control.
                    —Charles Barkley

    Charles Barkley’s statement about athletes not being role models and Nike’s subsequent commercials on the subject generated a lot of profitable controversy in the 90s. Since then many athletes have been living up to his low expectations. John Rolfe, of Sports Illustrated For Kids talked about having difficulty picking out athletes for the magazine in 2004:

…Here at SI For Kids…we had a litmus test for athletes before we admitted them into our pages: a clean record and positive life message. We were quickly down to a pair of backup goaltenders, three utility infielders and a member of the PGA senior tour.

    I’m not going to run down the list of troubled athletes because I don’t want carpal tunnel. But there is another tough-as-nails, undersized forward who, unlike Barkley, is passionate about being a role model. That’s because his “…role models [as a kid] were pimps [and] drug dealers.” Caron Butler followed the lead of the worst of street culture and almost wasted his life.

    Butler copped to being arrested 15 times before the age of 15 on an Oprah appearance. The bust that finally sent him away was Caron being caught with an unloaded gun and a small amount of cocaine. Initially he was sent to an adult prison, but then he was transferred to the facility that tested his will and ultimately changed his life.

    When Caron was transferred to juvie jail at the Ethan Allen School for Boys in Wales, Wisconsin, things got bad immediately. Caron was in solitary confinement within a week when an “old friend” from Racine wanted to scrap. Fifteen days in solitary gave Caron a lot of time--time to think. Caron recalled his quandary: “I had to decide whether to shape up or spend my life in the prison system.” Sometimes your own life and future isn’t enough to pull you out of a spiral, though. That’s where Caron’s mom stepped in to do what moms do best.

    "Seeing my mother cry from the jail cell was disturbing for me," Butler said, "As a child the worst thing you want to see is your mother cry.” Caron needed a way out. He was a tall, athletic kid who never took advantage of athletic programs at school. Caron started to perfect his cold-blooded game not in an AAU program or in high school ball, but on the lawless asphalt of juvenile prison.

    Upon release, Caron got his act together with the help and goodwill of the George Bray Community Center. Eventually Butler went to a Maine prep school to regain the year of eligibility lost when he was arrested and expelled from Case High School. After two years in Jim Calhoun’s tough-love UConn Huskies program, Butler was drafted 10th overall by the Miami Heat in 2002.

    Caron’s career has been far from a steady progression towards greatness. His stellar rookie effort landed him third behind Amare Stoudamire and Yao Ming in the Rookie of the Year voting (he collected 13 first place votes). But his sophomore campaign for the Heat was marred by injury and he was soon sent to the Lakers as part of the deal that landed Shaq in Miami. He regained his footing in season three but once again was packaged for a big man, this time Kwame Brown. His new team, the Washington Wizards, were ready to make this a long-term relationship and inked him to a 5-year, $46 million deal immediately.  Butler responded by upping his totals in points, boards, and assists. More importantly he has become what Antawn Jamison has described as “the glue” on a team that has turned around a horrendous run of NBA bottom-dwelling matched only by the also recently resurgent Clippers.  

    So as the Wizards and Cavs continue what has been a thrilling and hotly-contested playoff series, you can watch Caron draining shot-after-shot to keep the sometimes-neurotic Wizards from losing hope. Or see him rise over LeBron to hit, even though the sickly-talented King James can slap the shot clock before dunking. Caron’s fearless game arises not from just learning to ball in the most dangerous pickup games on earth (though that helps); Caron will tell you why he can play without fear--He plays for the kids.

    Butler receives letters from troubled kids all over the country who are trying to turn their lives around. They’ve seen his courageous moves on the court, and his greater courage to fess up to bad decisions and choices on a national stage. Caron considers it a mission to be a role model for these kids. In his own words:

There might be a kid out there who has been through some bad things and maybe seeing me, someone who has been through the things I've been through will help them…I don't necessarily mean playing in the NBA. It can be school. It can be music. It might be helping other people. There are so many better things that you can do with your life. We all go through some difficult things, but once those things happen, the question is: How are you going to respond?

    I hope that Charles Barkley is an in-studio analyst for as long as I’m alive. He’s either hilarious or controversial or both and he always makes me think. But I also hope Barkley is wrong on this one. Howard Tractman in the American Journal of Bioethics explains where Barkley might have gone astray:

When Sir Charles dropped the role model ball, I think he did that because he did not want to be burdened with the need to lead the discussion of how basketball could make society better.  

    Caron Butler’s bears that burden lightly because the strongest muscle in Caron's body is his heart.

"We don't choose to be role models, we are chosen."—Karl Malone