A response to Sox can no longer whine about 'Evil Empire'

It's called fighting fire with fire.  The Red Sox wouldn't have made that deal unless the "Evil Empire" had opened to door.  We didn't win the Cold War by under spending compared to the Soviet Union.  We won because we spent more, forcing them to spend more in order to keep up in the arms race.  It's an expensive yet relatively bloodless way to win a war.  It would not have been necessary had cooler heads prevailed and true nature of nuclear warfare had been accurately disseminated.

Before you get overly defensive and miss the point in a flurry of desperate ignorance; I'm not comparing the Cold War to Baseball.  I'm comparing strategies and the circumstances that precipitate that.  If no one challenges the Yankees at their own game, there remains the same old imbalance of power which doesn't stem from something wholesome like talent or better management or a well organized farm system or a highly effective scouting team or a combination thereof.  It stems from a lazy, misanthropic ideal that the best way to solve the problem of perpetually being the best is to throw money at it.  The only place that money comes from is from us, the fans. 

Thanks to Darth Steinbrenner and his Evil Empire, those fans that haven't gone over to the Dark Side (non-Yankee fans) are being forced to pay more for the pleasure of enjoying our national pastime so as to enable our teams to remain competitive.  This makes baseball less accessible to us common folk who haven't been able to attain your level of income thereby allowing you pay the increased price.

Baseball was never about the rich until George got a hold of its most storied franchise.  He forgot the common man who can no longer afford to take his son to games and buy him a hat or the jersey of his favorite player.  Now only the privileged can afford to go support the teams that they love more than the privileged few who see their attendance as a status symbol or their money as an investment. 

The Yankees used to be the face of baseball.  Now they're the face of capitalism.  That's like making Paris Hilton the face of the Feminist Movement.  We need to get back to the days when the Yankees were great because they were the Yankees, not because they were the only ones who could afford it.  Go back to the days when my father could afford to take me to a ballgame more than once a year.  Back when the jersey of my favorite player didn't cost him more than a month's groceries. 

I love baseball.  And even though I don't root for the Yankees; I respect what they once were.  I abhor what they are now.  So I guess you are halfway right:  the Red Sox DON'T HAVE TO whine about the "Evil Empire", because they are doing everything they can to defeat it.  Unlike the media who profits from glorifying it.  At least you guys can afford jerseys.  Screw us, the little people, right?

Let's go ahead and get it out there so we can put it to bed, already. 

FACT:  Game 6 officials have no business in this business.  I saw so many "Phantom Fouls" I thought I was watching a horror movie.  This is not a point of discussion.  This topic will not go to committee. The refs made Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Helen Keller look like Superman with binoculars.  Face it:  it was 5 on 8 in favor of Miami all game long.

FACT:  David Stern has about as much business running the NBA as I do in pantyhose (trust me; I don't need to wear pantyhose).  He didn't want to hand over the trophy to Mark Cuban and, Lo and Behold, he doesn't have to.

FACT:  People who accuse me of whining.... are whining

Now it's time for reality...

REALITY:  NONE OF THE PRECEEDING FACTS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE MAVERICKS GAME 6 LOSS!!!!!

Oh, how did we lose the finals, let me count the ways:

1.  Nowitzki got HOT early on.  That was right before his team started to ignore him.  He was 7 for 10 from the floor and we stopped feeding him.  There is no excuse for that.

2.  We stopped driving the lane.  There is an old saying that goes: "Dance with who brought you."  We got here by driving the lane.  We won the first two games by driving the lane.  We lost the last 4 by NOT driving the lane.  Raise your hand if you see a pattern here.

3.  If you can't even make 1 out of 10 3point shots... STOP TAKING THREE POINT SHOTS!!!  Every time we hit a drought it’s because we jacked a 3 point shot.  Funny thing that...

4.  If Shaq ends the game with 5 fouls, you played him soft.  His name is Shaquille O'Neal, not Jesus Christ.  You can drive on him, I swear.  My dad hated Shaq because he felt that he got away with too much.  I could never convince him that half the reason for that was the other players let him.

5.  In the first two games we made Shaq look stupid.  In the last 4 games he returned the favor.  If it ain't broke...

6.  All men are created equal: they all get 6 fouls.  Use them.  If the officials are going to call a foul every time someone breathes on Wade, don't bother trying to stay away.  Make him pay for the privilege.  Foul the #### out of him.  Wade gets upset when he's compared to Jordan.  I can see why.  He doesn't want to admit that the both possess the uncanny ability to turn players into spectator by merely touching the ball.  If they had to endure what Bird, Chamberlin, Russell or any of their peers had to endure; we wouldn't even know their names.

Notice how none of those reasons included conspiracies or refs. 

FACT:  If you score more points than your opponent, the officials become as effective as they are incompetent.

FACT:  The Miami Heat deserves their Championship.  They earned it.  The better team won.

This is why Baseball is my favorite sport.  Any coach or player worth his weight in salt knows that you have to adjust to the officials.  The strike zone is what the umpire says it is.  You only argue rule interpretations, not judgment calls.

Here endeth the lesson.

A response to No whiners! Mavs need to shut up ... now:

Pay attention:  Shaq wasn't really airborne when Stackhouse hit him.  I realize that you work for FOX but at least TRY to tell the whole story.  If Stern didn't feel the officiating was lacking veracity, then why couldn't look Cuban in the eye while he was being followed out of the stadium?  Neither of us knows for sure but you failed to raise the question.  Biased?  Stern was able to address Cuban later on BDSSP.  Why not when Cuban was in front of him?  Stern even went so far as to say that he "didn't want to hide from what was presented to him.”.  Which would have been a noble gesture had he not started his rebuttal with: "All I am going to say is...”  Sounds like a dodge to me.  Not to you.  I get it.  Spin anyone?  And I'm still waiting for you or at least one of your many colleagues to point out that the officials are way too involved in a finals series.  If the sport is truly is a sport and not "sports entertainment" (as per FCC regulations), why not let the boys actually play instead trying to use officiating to decide the end of the game.  I guess your masters have yet to allow you to address that.  Is that Spin I smell?

As for Cuban's antics; unless you are a Maverick's fan you don't know what an owner like this can do for a team and its city.  I say this because he is the only owner of his kind.  He loves the game, the team, the players, the city and the fans more than either you or I.  He's even put his money where his mouth is.  You are paid to pontificate on a sport which you obviously aren't even qualified to play or coach.  You don't have the ability or opportunity to walk a mile in his shoes, even if you wanted to.  You risk nothing and only stand to gain every time you put finger to keyboard.  And if you expect anyone with an IQ above room temperature to believe that any sports news program's first priority is anything but make a profit (yes, even including your own) and operates as such, you're destined for disappointment.  Half of Cuban's remarks cost him more money than you could afford to pay for the freedom of voicing them.  He OWNS the team.  If you had invested as much time, sweat equity and money into something you loved as much as he loves the Mavericks; you would be passionate too.  You might even be prone to emotional outbursts.  Only if you really cared, though. 

I respect your game analysis.  On this, you are truly a subject matter expert and I shall continue to defer to your wisdom.  You do however lack the proper perspective to report on Cuban.  You don't get it.  You might eventually.  Right now, you don't.  You know ALOT about basketball, and sports in general.  ALOT more than the vast majority of your audience.  A lesser man would take pride in that when he should consider it a responsibility of his to be sure he is providing accurate, unbiased reporting.  Given your position and corresponding qualifications, I would expect more from you.  Am I wrong to do so?  Are we all?