Wherever I may Rome: Young Money making ‘old college try’ obsolete

Calm before the storm

Ever notice that the same people who are quick to pass judgment based on their own personal bias are nowhere to be found when they’re dead wrong?

I’ve had a lot of practice being wrong, so I have no trouble admitting it, like when I pulled a sheet over Tom Brady’s career a little while back. (And I hope I’m wrong about Coach K!)

In that spirit, where are all those people hiding who declared Brandon Jennings’ foray to Europe to be a horrible idea gone wrong?

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Change clothes: Marketing, not tradition, drives LeBron’s 6th sense

Taking No. 6 for a test drive 

And just like that, LeBron James has decided – in his seventh year in the NBA – that he needs to honor Michael Jordan, so he’s switching his number.

I mean, is there anyone that believes that this is his true motivation?

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The Afternoon After: NFL’s embrace of Big Ben – the clock – illogical

Here’s my weekly roundup of what I saw in football, starting with the latest nonsensical idea from a league commissioner. This turned into The Day After (thanks, day job).

English fans get ready to watch a sport they likely don't understand -- which puts them on the same level as Eric Mangini

Professional sports leagues constantly want to expand their horizons. The thinking is that the more people in more places that see your brand, the bigger market there is to sell jerseys and such. I get that.

But now I hear that the NFL may eventually want to move a team to London, and I think it’s an ambitious but preposterous sentiment.

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King of all Media: LeBron’s full-court press on America taking wing

Indians cap? I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the Yankees cap. We need this guy wearing all New York, all the time

With the baseball playoffs fast approaching and the football season in full swing, it still seems that LeBron James is everywhere. You have books on the market, movies on the way, he’s at the Cowboys game, he’s on the Daily Show. You can’t even open your front door without LeBron being there selling you Nikes and clapping some chalk in the air.

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Air of sadness forever casts shadow over Jordan’s greatness

Game of shadows I’ve always thought that there’s an inherent loneliness that comes with preternatural talent.

Reflecting on the great moments one can produce with sheer physical or mental genius can be like walking through a hall of mirrors, fated to see endless glimpses of moments in time that can never be recaptured except through still or moving images.

When I look at Michael Jordan, I see a man trapped by his own greatness. The man was like Icarus; he reached heights unlike those reached by anyone else, but the problem with tasting a nectar that sweet is that it’s difficult to put up the rest of your life by comparison.

I’ve long been fascinated by Jordan’s ascent from mere mortal to demigod. Over time, as his talents and accomplishments grew, he metamorphosed from a high school kid to an NCAA championship hero, to a hotshot rookie to an NBA scoring leader, to an MVP to a champion – and eventually to the greatest of all time. Not to mention… a worldwide icon.

But at what cost to the man’s soul?

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Perspectives on Jordan, Jeter and Ichiro take a back seat

 

Suffice it to say, I look up to Michael Jordan. I have a poster with the words he speaks in that ad above hanging as the centerpiece of my living room – along with a framed picture of the Twin Towers.

And I have my own perspective to share on the man as he enters the Hall of Fame. But not on 9/11. I believe they should have moved the induction out of respect for the remembrance of this day, but I guess eight years after the fact, maybe it’s time to just let this be something of just another day.

That said, I want to let the Piazza/9-11 post breathe up there. Look for my thoughts on Jordan sometime during or maybe after the weekend; Derek Jeter and Ichiro for their milestones, too. As great as all three athletes are, I personally still believe they should take a back seat today. Others agree with me; Mike Francesa on WFAN had Ari Fleischer on today and is mostly taking calls about 9/11.

So congratulations to Jordan, Jeter and Ichiro. I’ll get back to you guys in a few days.

NBA, I beg of you: Bring back the J.R. Rider era

I saw this recently – and I implore all NBA teams, someone sign J.R. Rider!

Remember the 1994 Dunk Contest, back when that was cool? You damn right I do. We had a very young Allan Houston doing his thing, Reign Man before he gained like 150 pounds, and the great Robert Pack. Don’t forget my man Pat Ewing in the front row in a sweet purple shirt.

 

And of course, J.R. Rider with the East Bay Funk Dunk. Often imitated. NEVER, EVER duplicated.

I was more a Penny Hardaway and Warriors-era Chris Webber guy myself, but J.R. Rider’s dunk epitomized 90’s-era basketball – along with White Men Can’t Jump, Lil’ Penny, Jordan, and The Dunk by Starks.

I don’t care what shape he’s in, I don’t care what he looks like, we need J.R. Rider back in the league for fun’s sake. Hell, we need him back in the dunk contest.

While we’re at it, move over LeBron, let’s track down Dee Brown, Ced Caballos and Harold Miner (word to Chris for the reminder about Baby Jordan) and make this a real party.

Ain’t nothing wrong with a little nostalgia.

Look closer: Pistons-model Jordans a nod to what made Jordan great

Doesn't play defense? Come on.

Note: The following is this site’s debut from Frank Pepe, who is the world’s foremost expert on sneakers, Canadian sports and hip-hop. He’s as elusive as Keyser Soze, and about twice as lethal, but we’re ecstatic to have his unique take on things here at the site.

I have two jobs now, but when I was flat broke I spent my money on Jordans. 

I didn’t line up Saturdays to buy new pairs, but my eye was to the release board. Now I’ve all but retired from the game, and it’s come down to occasionally checking NiceKicks.com, they of the well-intentioned Asics collaborations and Phil Jackson videos. Amidst the colorful detritus and anachronistic mistakes that line this year’s new releases, one of Brand Jordan’s latest retros has been made much odder than normal. Keeping in line with much of this year’s crop,
it’s a Jordan I. Keeping in line with a number of classic retros — the Olympic VIIs, a player exclusive II or two, a bootleg or three — it’s navy and blue. These Jordans, however, are done up in Pistons colors.
 
Such a sacrilegious shoe doesn’t surprise me. Sloppily reconstituted retros litter Nike’s recent history and worse, my closet. Ill-executed re-curations have been all but law these last five years, and are so unavoidable that even the most stringent traditionalist has now a pair of Would it help to consider them Spider-Man Jordan 1's?orange, burgundy and elephant print-camo Air Trainers. Even Air Max loyalists twinged when the Jordan I lost its top two eyelets and became a mid-top. With the rise of these sacrilegious retros, there has been less and less attention to detail — two words: PSI markings, where are they — and my wallet is more and more thankful. These ill-conceived retro campaigns have let Vans in the pantry, but it’s still Nike or Other. This Nike, at first glance mistaken like so many others, might actually have a theme.  An early Jordan, it also fits into the early part of Michael’s career arc.

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In teammate, Armstrong finds new way to challenge himself

It’s no secret that Lance Armstrong is an extremely competitive person,  not that that’s a bad thing. That is exactly why it’s hardly a stunner that Armstrong hasn’t been content after all to stand aside and support Astana teammate Alberto Contador during the Tour de France.Black, white and yellow

Does someone like Armstrong, who won seven Tours in a row, re-emerge from "retirement" to be anything other than The Man? Of course not, that’s not how it goes.

When Jordan came back to the Wizards, was he satisfied playing second fiddle to the younger players on the team to help them learn how to lead, maybe even coming off the bench if it was to help the team’s progress? Get real. Though Jordan’s body no longer allowed him to duplicate his former physical splendor, his mentality had not changed, and he conducted himself as such — at the expense of the team.

The difference with Armstrong is that he’s not much weaker than he was before, if at all. He’s still a virtuoso capable of controlling the action; Lance in the Alps is akin to Federer at Centre Court. And he knows it.

But then there’s the matter of Contador. When Lance returned to Astana, he was coming back to a team that featured the Tour winner from just two years ago. Contador was not initially pleased, intending to join another team, but he was contractually obligated to Astana. However, Armstrong said the right things. This is from their first press conference back in December:

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The baseball LeBron? He’s already in the Majors

Nobody is ever content to just enjoy what they have in sports. It’s always about finding what’s “next.” ESPN has a whole magazine devoted to this every year. Everyone searched for the “Next Jordan” for years and years, until LeBron James came along. Then it almost immediately became about finding the “Next LeBron.”

Of course, other sports had to have LeBrons of their own.  So this year we have Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State and Team USA mound phenom who was the first pick in this year’s baseball draft. Never mind that Scott Boras is extorting the Nationals for $50 million (!), the team apparently hasn’t even communicated with Strasburg, and no young pitcher is ever even close to a sure bet.

Then we get Sports Illustrated’s cover story on Bryce Harper, some 16-year-old catcher out in Vegas who apparently is like a baseball version of Paul Bunyan. He hits 600-foot homers, throws 96 on the gun, does volunteer work and gets good grades. He sounds like me in high school, except for, well, pretty much all that stuff. We’ll see how it goes.
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