It's all about the money...I guess

Just when you thought that pro basketball couldn’t get any crazier, this tidbit from Chicago:

Chicago, IL (Sportsline.com) - The Chicago Bulls fined rookie forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 on Tuesday for his comments after being selected to participate in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on February 17 of All-Star weekend. Instead of saying he was honored to be part of a NBA All-Star institution since the days of Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, Thomas noted he was excited for the "free money." Well, at least the kid was being honest.

This is what the slam-dunk contest has become to some of the NBA’s young stars: another money grab. You can rest assured that by the time you read this, the NBA’s spin doctors will have gotten to Thomas and he will be forced to hold another press conference to say, “I really didn’t mean what I said.”

"He has to mature more," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "These are the kinds of episodes we all can mature from. We've all said things we've regretted as soon as they came out of our mouth. You can be honest with the media and not guarded all the time ... if you have something bright to say."

Have something bright to say. Now there’s a novel idea. Join me February 22nd for our Communications skills discussion. We’ll talk more about this and cover one of my basic rules for good communication: Have something good to say.

Maybe Thomas will win the slam dunk competition. Have the NBA bring a big pile of money out to the free throw line and let him dunk over that. Hey, he’s just going for the money.

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Current Culture is not getting it done

This is a busy, challenging, and fun time for me. In the middle of the college and NBA seasons, I’m going back and forth between the college and pro game nightly. It’s a blast! But one thing remains painfully obvious. We have to change the system of teaching basketball players the game of basketball and the game of life. And it has to start around age 5.

The current culture is not getting the job done. Two events in January underscored this for me. First, the Hawks hosted the Celtics on MLK Day. Of Boston’s starting five, only one had college experience. And despite years in the league, Boston’s Gerald Green and Al Jefferson showed their lack of knowledge of how to play professional basketball with careless, ill-timed fouls, and poor shot selection. The mental side of their games is well behind their physical skills, which are considerable. It’s a breakdown of the system, big-time.

Second point: Boston College has one of the nation’s premiere shot blockers in Sean Williams (over 5 a game). Pro body, great length, a special talent. Unfortunately, he’s got a police record as long as your arm. Before the game I did at BC last week, the comment was made that if a guy like that is going to be allowed to stay in school and on the team, if you are the head coach, you go to bed at night and hope the phone doesn’t ring. Sean Williams was dismissed from the BC basketball team Wednesday for violation of team rules. He never should have been allowed to play in the first place. Did I mention that he is a great shot blocker?? Hmmm.

This is what we’re talking about, folks. The system is broken. We aim to start fixing it.

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What message are we delivering?

I am not, and have never been a Barry Bonds fan. But if he held a press conference to say that the media were a bunch of self-indulgent hypocrites, I would be the first to stand up and second the motion. Why? Because he would be absolutely right. Not to go over plowed ground, but we are all aware of the overage, the books, et. Al. of Bonds/Mc-Guire/Canseco visa vie steroids. Everyone with a mic or a laptop has chimed in on this. Especially with Barry headed back to the Giants, and months away from breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. But what about his story from baseball’s winter meetings? The Mets are closing in on a two-year, $5 million deal for reliever Guillermo Mota. Mota, who made about $3.2 million last year, will miss the first 50 games of 2007 after failing a drug test late last season and by rules will not be paid during his suspension. And boys and girls, what was the suspension for? Well, MLB won’t say, other than it was for a violation of for using “a performance- enhancing substance.” Hmmm. I wonder what that might have been? Where was the media outrage? Take roids’ and cash in! How disgusting. You know, it may take us a while, but here at Suwanee Sports Academy we are going to change the culture of sports in the country. And we are going to do it one youngster at a time. The type of behavior that Mr. Mota exhibited and the current sports culture chose to ignore is so abhorrent it embarrasses me as a broadcaster. Stories like this only steal our resolve here to do things the right way. There is a better way. It’s in our mission statement. Thanks for your trust in us.

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Passion is a clear path to success

Dear Parents,

Is there anything more exciting than watching your child get excited about a new hobby or endeavor?
Well, I must admit that I was pretty proud when recently I received this e-mail from Chandler Lee in Macon.
Chandler was in our first Broadcasting camp last summer.
Chandler wrote:
Just an update from down here in Macon: The football playoffs start soon, so that's exciting. Also, our Broadcast Team got the release forms for Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville to do their basketball and baseball games! That makes me their official announcer! I also might be doing my school's basketball team. Rumor has it the guy that used to do it just wants to do P.A. Also I will be doing my school's baseball team as well, which of course is my best I believe. I am also trying to work out doing Macon's new Independent League Baseball. Hopefully it will go through!
I am staying busy as you can see, but loving every minute of it. I love being behind the mic. I wouldn't give anything in the world for it!
Just wanted to see how you were doing. Thanks for everything you did for me at the camp. It meant a lot!
Wow! Sounds like I am grooming my replacement! Hey Chandler, I’ve still got kids to put through college!
Seriously, young Chandler reminds me of, well, me! When I was his age, I wasn’t on the air yet, in any capacity.
He’s off to a great start in the business.
If you know of someone who might be interested in broadcasting, I encourage you to have them get in touch with me and tell them about next summers’ camp.

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High-stakes soccer

I know that’s not what you were expecting to read in this space this month. Nor did I plan on writing about it. Until recently, when I saw what was on the line. My daughter, Gracie, is playing in a local 6-7-year-old girl’s soccer league. Silly me, I thought this was all about recreation, fun, and introducing the girls to soccer. Little did I know that the real reason this league exists is so that some coaches can use these children as pawns to achieve the personal satisfaction of victory. These games are supposed to be played 5-on-5 with a very loose interpretation of the rules of the game. Usually, some 12-year-old boy is the official. Innocent, until the coaches who really want to win get involved.

One sure-fire way to shut down the other team is to leave one player back to play ‘defense’. You would probably recognize this person as a ‘goal-tender’. “Just lay back here, dear, and as soon as the ball comes your way, just stop it or kick it out of bounds” is the clear message. If you’ve never seen a 6/7 girls soccer game before, this is tantamount to having Bill Russell defend the goal against five Spud Webb’s. It really helps your team win if the other team cannot get a shot on goal.

And that’s the part I don’t get. I thought it was all about running around and having fun kicking the ball in the goal. Most will have the thrill of scoring, and that makes the post-game snack go down a little easier. Unless you are playing in our league. Once one coach started using a goalie, guess what? They all started holding one player back, so on each occasion, it was 4 offensive players against 5 defensive players. Oh what joy! In the chaos, occasionally a goal was scored. What other edge can we create?

Oh yes, how about this one. “Look, darlin, if the ball comes to you at their end of the field, just kick it out of bounds.” That’s good skill development. Just kick it out to take the heat off, right coach? Here’s another good one: while the other team is trying to substitute, hurry up your throw-in and maybe you can catch them unorganized! What a concept! I’m sure no one has ever thought of that one before in youth soccer. And, yes, about that all important throw-in. Let’s have our strongest thrower put in in play and throw it as hard as you can toward the goal! It might go in! From out of bounds! And we can count it as a goal! What great coaching! I think I’m losing my mind.

For these and many other reasons, yours truly is teaming up with the folks at Suwanee. Together, we are going to change this win-at-all costs mentality. When your child comes through our doors, know that this type of behavior is not tolerated and deemed unacceptable. Do we foster competition? Absolutely! But it will be done in proper perspective. Our coaches and instructors here are professionals in every sense of the word, and the atmosphere that is created and sustained here will be one of development of the entire player, in mind, body, and spirit. Thank goodness the Hawks season has started! The soccer league just about wore me out!

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