A Whirwind Week

So much happened in the sporting world over the past seven days or so. It was tough to narrow down all of these topics into one blog. I decided to write a little about a handful of the happenings. 

Let’s start in Big D, in which the “D” at the moment is Dez Bryant. A specific set of rules for a high school or college athlete, that’s to be expected. Special guidelines for a roster the week of the Super Bowl, that’s happened too. But what the Dallas Cowboys are preparing to enforce on 23-year-old wide receiver Dez Bryant is actually laughable. Curfew, around the clock baby-sitters, chauffeurs to and from practice, among others. That sounds like a check list for a person who lives in a senior citizen facility. With all Jerry Jones has invested in him, Bryant better put up Jerry Rice-type numbers this year. I don’t see how that’s possible, though. He has a virtual ankle bracelet that is letting every defensive back in the NFL know where Bryant is at all times. Only the Cowboys.

Who saw the last two innings of the Little League World Series US Championship? California was down 15-5 in their last at bat, and then it began. 10 runs, including back-to-back homers to tie the game to send the game to extras. Lost in the story was the shot of big league clubhouses watching this classic before their own game. Almost lost in that was the resiliency of the kids from Tennessee, who could have buried their faces in embarrassment. But they scored a barrage of runs themselves. Final score, 24-16 Tennessee. So what if they got shellacked by Japan in the next game? The Little League World Series is so underrated. You have to be from another world not to love this tournament.

Pete Carroll says he is for conventional wisdom. He and the Seattle Seahawks management are not following that thought process. Terrell Owens at 35 was not a good idea. At 38, the idea was pathetic. Let’s not forget that they gave Matt Flynn a ton of money after just two starts in the NFL. Now he will be watching Russell Wilson in week one. Add the money they gave back up Charlie Whitehurst, and Pete Carroll could be on the hot seat.

Carroll’s seat is no more of a hotter seat than in New York. Rex Ryan has been a lot quieter in this preseason, but not as quiet as the Jets offense. Yes, I know it’s only the preseason, but no offensive touchdowns in three games? Five red zone possessions all resulting in field goals. Tebow has been awful. Sanchez claims the team is not trying to show anything. I can’t argue with him there. I can just hear the Giants laughing, as the most ignored Super Bowl Champion in history.

When you hear the name Lance Armstrong, many things can come to mind. Cyclist who won seven Tour de Frances. Beat cancer, raised a lot of money for the disease, and became a great role model. I think of all the yellow Livestrong bracelets that everyone seemed to have on their wrists. Well, those people should take a black Sharpie to that word. Or tear off the bracelet all together. Lance Armstrong is not living strong. He is weak. Weak for the allegations that he used performance enhancing drugs, tainting his Tour wins. But more than that, he has decided to stop fighting the accusations. So what message is he really conveying? He can beat cancer but he is giving up the fight to possibly clear his name? What are the cancer patients to think? What are his kids thinking? Livestrong takes on a new meaning in my mind. It should in everyone else’s as well.

Speaking of performance enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens threw a few innings in a minor league game Saturday night. He shrugs off the notion that this is the beginning of preparation for a one game return to his hometown Houston Astros. We all know the Astros will offer it to him. They have nothing to lose, having the worst record in Major League Baseball. But they really shouldn’t. Ok, Clemens was never convicted of PED’s and his court hearing was thrown out. But you know this one start will push back his Hall of Fame candidacy for five years and possibly improve his chances of induction down the road. Hey Roger, you and Bonds should just come clean and go away forever. 

Now to biggest story of the week, which will be taken from most of my post on Facebook this morning. The Dodgers and Red Sox pulled off a blockbuster trade. Boston shedding a ton of salary and rebuilding, which I think is interesting considering they were a monumental collapse away from the postseason and perhaps a deep playoff run last season. The story? The Dodgers acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, not to mention finally getting rid of James Loney. In the process, the Dodgers new ownership is making a huge statement. Here is the Facebook post… The payroll is obviously bigger than most would like, but this has to be looked at in every way. First, Dodger Stadium was not the place to be last year. From the Bryan Stow beating, to Frank McCourt’s divorce and payroll issues, to the team barely finishing above .500, far from a feel good season. This deal along with Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino and others, has gotten Dodger fans excited again. They will be back at the Stadium. Now, I’m not guaranteeing the Dodgers will win the World Series this season but I am guaranteeing they will contend for the Championship every year in the foreseeable future. And that’s what the Dodgers have to do. The Lakers do it. Which brings me to my next two points, Magic Johnson. Yes I know there are others in the ownership group. But let’s stay with Magic here. The guy is successful in everything he does (minus the talk show). He knows what it takes to succeed and knows business. There's no getting around this: baseball has become a business. I would love for baseball to be like it was in the 1970’s when the Dodgers had home grown products like Garvey, Lopes, Cey, and others. But today, you have to go out and acquire the best players you can, when you can. Don’t forget, today’s Dodgers have arguably the best position player and pitcher in MLB, both home grown. 2^nd point with Magic is this; the Dodgers are on the verge of signing a 4 billion dollar TV deal. So if my math is accurate, that 200 million dollar payroll the Dodgers are taking on next season is 5 cents on the dollar. Magic and the others are attempting to put the Dodgers on top of Los Angeles, which isn’t easy with the Lakers doing their thing every year. USC football is preseason ranked #1. The Angels still have Pujols and others. Also don’t forget that the Stanley Cup is in Los Angeles for the first time ever. The Dodgers can top that in the minds of Los Angeles sports fans. Something they had before some guy named Magic was drafted by the Lakers.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly... the Olympics

Citius, Altius, Fortius: Or you may know it as "Faster, Higher, Stronger.” That has been the motto for the Olympic Games since they were held in Paris in 1924. London just finished hosting the XXX Olympiad, somewhat dominated by the United States, but there were many others who made their mark in some sort of way, positive or negative. The Olympics can be glorious and they can be a poor display. They can be memorable and they can be forgettable. So here is my attempt at a recap of the events that took place in the U.K. over a 17-day-plus stretch:

The Good: The weather looked as good as could be asked for, given the normal expectancy. The crowds were great, and NBCs coverage was fantastic.

The Bad: Spoilers. I know there isn’t too much we can do when the events happen eight hours earlier than when we see them on TV. Luckily, it will only be a four hour difference in Rio, four years from now. But there has to be some way the powers that be throughout the internet can get together and prevent so many results leaking.

The Ugly: The Opening Ceremonies were just awful to watch. Other than the countries making their entrance, nothing was worth it. Even Paul McCartney sounded terrible.

The Good: Michael Phelps – We can all acknowledge the fact that this was not the Phelps from Beijing, 2008. But then again, that is fine. He wanted to have a little more fun this time around. He was still better than most and became the most decorated Olympic medalist in history. Subway, Eat Fresh.

The Bad: Ryan Lochte and Tyler Clary - Lochte talked the talked, and well, didn’t quite walk the walk. Almost anyone in the pool would be overshadowed by Phelps, but I would say that Lochte’s overall performance was just good. Tyler Clary spoke out saying that Phelps wasn’t training as much as he should. That should be a good thing if you have to compete against him. Let the sleeping dog lie. Clary only netted one individual medal.

The Ugly: Twitter - I could care less if Justin Bieber tweeted to Missy Franklin inviting her to his concert. And even less than that, I don’t need Ryan Seacrest pretending he belongs next to Bob Costas and Al Michaels. Seacrest, out! For good hopefully!

The Good: Usain Bolt - Sweeping the 100, 200 and 4x100 meter relay again. No one in history has done that. Will he go for three in a row in Rio?

The Bad: The talk of steroids and other performance enhancing drug possibilities for Bolt and his Jamaican teammates. I guess in the world of Track and Field, it is to be expected.

The Ugly: Carl Lewis - All but saying that we should wait til the drug tests come out to judge Usain Bolt. Carl, what are you worried about? He is not ruining your legacy. You were nothing but class when you competed and represented your country. Let it go. The truth will come out, no matter what.

The good: Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman – usually their comes a new media darling from the US Women’s Gymnastics’ team. This year, we got two of them. Douglas, the rags to riches story that led to two gold medals, the team and the all-around. Raisman, the captain of the Women’s team, along with medalling in two other individual events. A great story for both of them.

The bad: Jordyn Wieber – Partly her fault for just not rising up to the top of the competition, partly the fault of Tim Dagget and the other gymnastics media coverage clearly rooting for Wieber to shine above all else.

The ugly: The rule that only two from each nation can be represented in the gymnastics all-around competition. Ridiculous. Take the best 24 competitors, regardless. And what was with all the protests of scoring and judging? This is the main reason I cannot completely get behind events like gymnastics and figure skating. Too objective.

The good: Oscar Pistorius – It doesnt matter that he didn’t get past the semifinals of the 400 meter race. It doesn’t matter that he and his team finished 8^th in the 4x400 meter relay. Oscar Pistorius ran those races as a double amputee. It matters that he has become a voice or athlete for the handicapped. It matters that he got to carry the flag for South Africa in the opening ceremony. It matters the respect he got from his competitors, specifically Grenada’s Kirani James, who asked to exchange jersey numbers with him.

The bad: US Men’s Gymnastics – You got badly outclassed by the world. You got shown up by the US Women’s team. You looked defeated right from the beginning of the team finals. No big deal for the rest of the world. For the United States, unacceptable.

The ugly: Losing on purpose – Forgetting that badminton is an Olympic event, eight badminton players were disqualified for throwing matches to “help them win down the line.” Supposedly this has happened before. Just awful. You have earned the right to represent your country in the Olympics. They happen once every four years. Act accordingly.

Dream Matchup

We're just two weeks away from the 30th Olympiad, the summer games taking place in London. As fate would have it, this is the 20th anniversary of the 1992 original Dream Team that won gold medal in Barcelona. The 2012 version of our men's Olympic team is currently practicing and getting ready to defend their gold medal from 2008. In a recent interview, Kobe Bryant was asked about this team, their chance at the gold medal and how this team compares to the Dream Team in 1992 made up of Magic, Jordan, Bird, etc. Kobe for the most part said all the right things. He said that when comparing the team from 1992, you’re talking all-time greats. He said it would be very tough to go up against them, calling it a dream matchup, but in the end "I think we would pull it out.” There are so many different ways he could've answered that question, but just think for a minute. What is he supposed to say? Is he supposed to say, “We have no chance against them” or “I think we kill them” or “We’re not in the same league as them.” Any one of those answers would just not be acceptable. So, of course, defending his current teammates and roster, he thinks that this team in 2012 could beat any team today, yesterday or tomorrow. Now he could have said, “Well you know it's a different game. We’re 20 years later, they have advantages, we have advantages and it would be a toss-up. I think we would match up against them better than anybody else.” But in the end, I think he gave a pretty acceptable and correct answer. Could they have beaten the team from 1992? I think it's definitely possible. If they were to play 10 times, perhaps they might only win two or three out of ten. I think it would be short-sighted to say that this team of Kobe, LeBron, Durant and company could not keep up with the likes of Magic, Jordan, Bird and company. 

So let's look at the teams from 1992 and 2012. Now I'm not saying we’re going to look at everything inside the numbers, statistics, and all the little things that can get lost in the mix. For this discussion, we will focus on the names from each team. Even though both teams had twelve on the roster, we will eliminate two each to make the rosters a nice round number of ten. Which means from 1992 we drop Christian Laettner, who really only put in garbage time, and in a difficult decision, we will also eliminate Chris Mullin in favor of the more athletic Clyde Drexler. From the 2012 team we are going to eliminate Andre Iguodala and James Harden. No disrespect, but they do not belong in this conversation.

1992 head coach Chuck Daly mixed up his starting lineup, but let's just say we run with something like this:

PG - Magic Johnson, SG - Michael Jordan, SF - Scottie Pippen, PF - Charles Barkley, (toss-up but slight nod over Karl Malone in 1992) C - Patrick Ewing (slight nod over David Robinson in 1992).

This starting lineup still leaves a Hall of Fame rotation off the bench:

John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, David Robinson – You can plug-in most of those guys for any one of the guys in the starting lineup. Without a doubt the deepest team to ever lace up a pair of basketball sneakers if not, of all sports.

2012 head coach Mike Krzyzewski probably uses this starting lineup:

PG - Chris Paul, SG - Kobe Bryant, SF - Kevin Durant, PF - LeBron James, C - Tyson Chandler

That lineup leaves this rotation off the bench:

Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin - More athletic, but a notch below the bench that the 1992 team threw on the court.

Let’s pretend to play this game. I actually see the 2012 team getting out to a great start versus the elder statesman of 1992. Just a guess, but I would bet Charles Barkley tries to prove a point against the younger and somewhat out of position LeBron James. Barkley really has never seen someone who was bigger and more athletic than him in his career. Barkley probably forces some tough shots. Then, of course, there's the matchup of all matchups, Kobe Bryant versus his predecessor, Michael Jordan. You know Jordan will try to impose his will against Kobe and vice versa, but Jordan never ran up against someone like Kobe who could play defense and be just as physical. In Jordan's prime, the best shooting guards he ever went up against were Joe Dumars, Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond, and Clyde Drexler. They were great players, but nowhere near as physical and nowhere near as good defensively as the Black Mamba. So Kobe probably forces Jordan into some tough shots. Let's say Jordan gets off to somewhat of a cold start. Tyson Chandler rebounds and throws the outlet pass to Chris Paul who leads the fast break with LeBron James on one side and Kevin Durant on another. I don't care who you are, nobody's going to stop that three on two, or even three on three for that matter. This would undoubtedly lead to a lot of easy buckets. Chuck Daly calls timeout, wants to slow it up and draws a couple of plays. Chris Paul’s speed is a problem for Magic Johnson. Daly puts Magic in the post and lets him back down against the much smaller Paul. In the post, Magic finds some easy buckets, junior sky hooks no doubt. Perhaps Durant comes to help. Johnson dishes and gets easy buckets for Pippen and/or Ewing.

That leads to a very interesting point. The biggest one sided mismatch has to be Tyson Chandler trying to slow down Patrick Ewing. Let’s face it, Chandler has not seen too many quality big men with any offensive repertoire. While Ewing, who went to college for four years, is very polished on both ends of the floor and had to go to battle with the likes of Kareem, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robinson, Shaq, and don’t forget Brad Daugherty or Alonzo Mourning. Ewing would mop the floor with Chandler. Can you hear Marv Albert saying, “Ewing on the hop, YES! Patrick Ewing, on fire, ten first quarter points.” Very easily, but is that the way the 1992 team is going to go all game? So near the end the 1^st quarter, you imagine the subs would start coming in. 

I love the power forward and center matchups of Malone and Robinson vs. the youngsters, Love and Griffin. You better believe Malone would pound either one of them in the post, but could he really guard Love out at the three point line. Could Robinson stay with the size and strength of an explosive Blake Griffin? I guess he could play a little hack-a-Shaq defense. The Bird of 1984 would shred Melo or anyone else, but the Bird of ‘92 is not much more than a catch and shoot player. Carmelo runs circles around him and shows he is still a dangerous scorer. Westbrook probably does the same against Stockton. If Malone or Drexler aren’t getting to their spots offensively, I see the young 2012 bench putting a dent in to the ‘92 lead provided by Ewing’s play in the post. At the half, I see a 59-56 lead by the ‘92 squad.

Kobe, who has been sort of a non-factor, takes control early in the 3^rd. He drives the lane, posts up MJ, and gives him a couple of “Dream” moves that he learned from Olajuwon. Then he would pull up for a couple threes. Let’s face it, not even MJ had the outside shooting range that Kobe does. Jordan takes this personally and demands the ball. He gives the post moves right back to Kobe and after a few times down the floor, wouldn’t you know that a few whistles goes MJ’s way and this puts Kobe’s physical play on the bench with four fouls, perhaps he even gets teed up. No way Deron Williams or Carmelo Anthony can stay with MJ. And it’s so easy for Jordan with Magic getting him the ball at just the right places. The double now comes for Jordan and it frees up Barkley and/or Malone for some easy dunks. At the end of the 3^rd, the ‘92 squad extends their lead to nine, 84-75.

Coach K decides to turn up the heat a bit. In this case, turn up the speed. With Kobe in foul trouble, the 2012 team starts the 4^th with Westbrook, Durant, LeBron, Melo and Griffin. Daly’s ‘92 squad counters with their quickest squad: Stockton, Drexler, Pippen, Malone, Robinson. Westbrook tries to have his way vs. Stockton, but commits some careless turnovers. Malone teaches Melo in the post. A couple of monster jams by Griffin over the Admiral, now becoming a mermaid. Pippen stays right with LeBron, who has never seen anyone with Scottie’s wingspan, athleticism and pure defensive guile. Which leaves Drexler on an island with The Durantula. Clyde, very athletic and very talented, is not able to keep up with Durant, who is not only driving to the lane at will, but pulling up and elevating over the shorter Drexler. Durant’s mid-range game is deadly, and with six minutes to go, the 2012 team is within two. 

This game is becoming an all-time classic. The lead changes hands at least eight times. Bird for three? Yes! LeBron drives the lane, count it. Then Barkley over Love. Chris Paul finds his way to the hoop. Back and forth. Now back in the game and ready to finish, Kobe and MJ trade buckets for a few possessions in a “can you top that?” battle. With 40 seconds to go and the 2012 squad down three, Chris Paul dribbles up the court, calm and cool and directing traffic. He tries to find Kobe. Jordan knocks the ball away from Bryant. Kobe picks it up and elevates to shoot, but then at the last possible instant, finds Melo who finishes with an “and 1!” He hits the free throw. The game is tied at 109 with 19 seconds left. Coach Daly calls time out. Coach K goes with his starters: CP3, Kobe, Durant, LeBron and Chandler. The ‘92 squad goes like this: Stockton, Jordan, Bird, Magic and Malone. Five veterans and five great free throw shooters. Surprising or not, Stockton takes the ball. Bird and Jordan on the wings, with Magic low post and Malone high post. With twelve seconds to go, Stockton gets the ball down low to Magic. Now its Magic’s turn to direct traffic. Six seconds, he makes his move and then…

What happens from there is up to you. Magic might find Jordan at the top of the key, swish. He could have spotted Bird getting free in the corner, nothing but net. Perhaps Magic even faked left, junior hook right for the winner. No matter what, the ‘92 team finds a way to win. As I mentioned before, they win the majority of the games. They are the greatest team ever assembled. They had it all. But in no way shape or form am I going to say that the 2012 team couldn’t stay with them at all. You out there who believe the ‘92 team runs circles around the 2012 squad, let me ask you this, aren’t TVs better today? Isn’t HD better? Aren’t athletes, cell phones and video games better today? So don’t tell me that 2012 couldn’t stay with 1992. Also, remember this, you could add a healthy Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and Derrick Rose to the mix, and what would the outcome be then? That’s for another day…

Close but no Cigar

The NBA finals begin Tuesday night and it pits the two most exciting teams and best teams the NBA has to offer. Miami's big three, the Heat, led by MVP LeBron James versus an up-and-coming, very exciting Oklahoma City Thunder team that features another superstar, three time scoring champion Kevin Durant. Will this 2012 Finals give James yet another chance to escape the shadow of can he do it in the fourth quarter, in crunch time, against a good player, against a good team, when it matters most? And what about Durant? Should his team come out on top, would he be the true heir to Kobe Bryant as the NBA’s best player? If the Thunder hoist the trophy, would Lebron James, even after nine years in the league, start being categorized as one of the best players of all time never to win it all? It also gets me wondering across all sports, who are some of the best players never to win a championship? Before we get into the list, here are some honorable mentions:

Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Patrick Ewing, Dan Fouts, Reggie Miller, Warren Moon, Randy Moss

Without further ado, the top 12 athletes never to win a championship:

12. John Stockton – In NBA history, he is first all time in assists and steals. Stockton also hit many big shots in his Hall of Fame career, including a series clinching three pointers that propelled the Jazz to the first NBA Finals appearance in 1997.

11. Tony Gwynn – He could have taken more money, gone elsewhere and could have won a championship in another city. However, Tony Gwynn stayed loyal to San Diego. His National League record eight batting titles helped the Padres get to two World Series.

10. Charles Barkley – He still claims he isn’t a role model and is definitely not graceful on the links. Sir Charles played on the first two “Dream Teams” and was among the best in scoring and rebounding. His 1993 MVP led the Phoenix Suns to the Finals, losing in six games.

9. LaDainian Tomlinson – When you trail only Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice in touchdowns, you’ve had a great career. Tomlinson was a pillar of consistency for years who could do it all. He still holds the record for touchdowns in a season, 31 total TDs in 2006.

8. Elgin Baylor – He was called the Michael Jordan of his time. He had flair and grace and could fly through the air on his way to the hoop. It was unfortunate timing when Baylor retired just before the 1971-72 season, the season the Lakers won their first title in Los Angeles.

7. O.J. Simpson – The Juice was dominant in college and even better in the NFL. He was the first running back to rush for 2000 yards, back when the season was just fourteen games. That was in 1973 when he AVERAGED 143 rushing yards per game, a mark that may never be touched.

6. Karl Malone – The Mailman is 2^nd all time in points in the NBA, trailing only the great Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. He won two MVPs, the first coming in 1997 which was the first of two straight Finals appearances. He and Stockon lost both in six games to Jordan’s Bulls. He also came up short when joining Lakers in 2004, earning the league’s minimum.

5. Barry Bonds – Focusing on his career pre-steroids, Bonds won three MVPs and was the 2^nd player in history to reach the 40-40 mark. Ironically enough, it was Bonds’ poor performance in post season play that played a large part in him never winning a World Series.

4. Ken Griffey Jr. – It was always the discussion, who was better? Griffey gets the slight nod over Bonds because his career was not linked to steroids. There may not have been a more gifted player in MLB history. Over 600 homeruns, two MVPs, some of the best defensive play in centerfield and the prettiest swing in baseball couldn’t add up to even one Series appearance.

3. Barry Sanders – Those kids who never saw Barry Sanders run truly missed out on electricity. Sanders never wanted the spotlight and even retired just a season shy of passing Walter Payton for most rushing yards in NFL history. The stats don’t even paint a picture of how great and how exciting Barry Sanders was.

2. Ted Williams – The last man to hit over .400 in a season is still highly regarded as the greatest hitter who ever lived. Teddy Ballgame never won a World Series, but he fought for our country in two different wars, losing five years of his prime. In my opinion, Ted Williams is among the biggest legends in sports.

1. Dan Marino – “Yeah he was great, but he never won the big one.” Dan Marino was the man. He was everything you wanted from a quarterback. He had the arm strength, the quick release, and the swagger. Every passing record Brett Favre broke once belonged to Marino. He is without question the greatest athlete never to win a championship.

Dear Andrew - The Los Angeles Times

Dear Andrew,

I am very disappointed in the way you are playing this first-round series. When the Buss family decided to make you their first-round lottery pick in 2005, you should have taken it as the ultimate compliment, as the piece that was going to lead the Lakers into the next generation. You need to find a way to get back to being an All-Star caliber player and pick up the slack offensively, and especially defensively.

- Jerry West

Andrew,

I don’t know what the hell you’re doing out there on the court. The way you are playing in this series is a complete disgrace. I’ll tell you one thing, if you came up against Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis, or myself, we would mop up the floor with you and kick your ass. Get it together!

– Jamaal Wilkes

Andrew,

I was so pleased to see you play at such a high level this past season. You certainly deserved starting the All-Star game as the center of the Western conference. It made me think back to our time in the summers, before the games, and in the weight room where you and I worked together on your post play and the way you would handle double teams. You seemed to apply it all this year. However, if you truly want to be great, if you want to be considered elite amongst your peers, you need to bring it. You need to bring 100% of yourself every night, and especially in the postseason. That is where greatness lives. Please Andrew, do yourself a favor and find a way to get back to All-Star form.

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Dear Mr. Bynum,

Why do you continue to play so inconsistently, talk to the media, act like a crying teenager and not back it up 100% of the time? You're a disgrace to the organization right now. You're a disgrace to your team.  You’re a disgrace to yourself. If you're going to talk to the media, you better back it up every single night with a vengeance. You have to understand that this is the Los Angeles Lakers, and for you to be the center of the Los Angeles Lakers, you need to realize that this is truly something special, not just in basketball, but the world of sports. Andrew, I’m rooting for you, but if they ship your ass out I won't complain.

-  Michael Cooper

Andrew,

I'm not exactly sure what's going on inside your mind right now. I don't know if I can try to figure it out. When I rejoined the Lakers as head coach in 2005, I saw you as the future, specifically on the defensive end of the floor. I felt with your length, your size and your athleticism, you could truly control the paint and dominate defensively. Remember the book I gave you, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” Andrew, pick up the pace defensively and you can always control your opportunity. You can always control your destiny.

- Phil Jackson

Big man,

This is the MDE, Most Dominant Ever, Shaquille O'Neal. Let me tell you something about playing center for the Los Angeles Lakers. You are grouped into two categories: the legends, as in George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, myself. The other category, the also-rans: Kwame Brown, Eldon Campbell and others. You're in one group or the other. You have the talent to be a legend. You have the talent to have your jersey hang up in the rafters with mine and the others. Do not squander the opportunity big man. You're walking on thin ice right now. Give Kobe the help he needs and lead your team to a couple more championships.

 -  Shaquille O'Neal

To the current center of the Los Angeles Lakers, Andrew Bynum,

 I'm sure when you were drafted as a 17-year-old kid out of high school, you didn't quite understand the  situation you were about to get into. So let me fill you in on where you are and where you've come from since your debut as the youngest player in NBA history. You were drafted by perhaps the greatest professional organization in American team sports, the Los Angeles Lakers. As the center, you are automatically grouped into a long line of legends: George Mikan, Wilt, Kareem, and Shaq.  You were supposed to be next in line. Playing center for the Los Angeles Lakers is like playing centerfield for the New York Yankees or playing linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. You are expected to be great. You are expected to win and you are expected to conduct yourself with dignity and respect and be the class of your sport. You see, you are in a perfect situation. You got teamed up with one of the greatest players in NBA history in Kobe Bryant. You and Kobe were supposed to lead the Lakers into the next era of dominance, the next dynasty. And yes, you played fairly well and you've won a couple of championships. But anybody who's worth their soul knows that winning one or two just isn't enough. It wasn't enough for me and it shouldn’t be enough for you. Are you paying attention to how Kobe Bryant is playing in this series? He is laying it all on the line. It doesn’t matter that he was sick all night. It doesn’t matter that he is hurting or that you are playing way above sea level. He never offers up an excuse because him being on the floor means he is healthy enough to play. That’s what it takes to be a winner. When are you going to step up to the plate, Andrew? When are you going to realize that playing for the Los Angeles Lakers is different than playing for any other organization in sports? You like Los Angeles? Great, it has its perks.  But with those perks come great sacrifices to survive in this town. You want the glory? Let's see the guts. Bring it on Saturday, Andrew, or forever be remembered as just another guy who could have been great but didn’t do enough to earn that label.

- Earvin Johnson