KEEP ON

D-Train sang about it in the 80’s; Keep on working.  Keep on striving.  Never settling.  You just can’t waver.  You can’t stop swinging.  Andy Roddick (Please stop calling him A-Rod, there is only one A-Rod) went down last night in the U.S. Open to Roger Federer, who some say is the greatest tennis player ever.

What can you do when you go up against the best and come out on the short end of the stick?  Give up? Cry for mommy? Cower? Take your ball and go home?

Nope…

You keep on! You find ways to get better.  You stick to your fundamentals.

As Andy Roddick said last night after the match, “I played my ass off tonight, I played the right way…” 

QUIET PLEASE?

I’m sitting here watching Venus Williams take on Jelena Jankovic in a big time match at the U.S. Open in Flushing, Queens.  I have been a big tennis fan for years but the one thing that I can’t quite understand is why the fans have to be quiet during a match?  The same holds true for golf?

Don’t tell me it’s for concentration either.  Because in baseball, basketball and football, you need just as much focus and concentration as you do in tennis and golf.  And we all know how the fans are in those three sports.

A PRIVILEGE

I was listening to former Chicago Bears head football coach Mike Ditka this morning on a talk show and he was explaining that it is a “privilege” to play in the NFL.

Too many athletes fail to realize this; this goes for all sports.

As an athlete,  you are the chosen few among many to represent your team.  If you are in high school, you are representing your school, the community and the former athletes. You are also placed in a position to possibly get a college scholarship.   In college, if you are lucky enough to be on scholarship, you are getting your education paid for.  You are representing your institution and thousands of fans, students and alumni.  And as a professional, well you are trying to make a living.  Putting food on the table and paying bills.  It’s your livelihood.

Whether it’s getting up at 6:00 AM with your teammates to lift weights or maybe it’s getting in your sprints, taking extra shots at night, studying all night for that exam or working harder during workouts.  Just remember, it’s a privilege to be a member of a team, not a right.

The term ‘Program Player’ refers to athletes who put the team first.  They don’t worry about scoring, getting their names in the newspapers or doing post-game interviews.  All they care about is how they can help their team be successful.  Kyle Witucky from Wooster College is a player everyone can learn something from as the zanesville times recorder checks in with the story of a player every coach would love to have on their roster.

“And he has so many personal characteristics besides being a good basketball player,” Moore explained. “All that stems from his family and his parents, who are great people. When you combine a great upbringing like that and to play for a coach like Scott Aronhalt, that prepares a guy. That’s why he has started every game for us.”

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!

PROTOTYPE PLAYER

Kevin Martin is my kind of guy/player.  I love the way he brings it every night.  He sprints the floor, defends, goes after rebounds and loose balls like no other.  He is what I like to call a runner/flyer.  But he’s also one of my guys for the ‘All-Play The Right Way’ team.  I’m going to start taking nominations as we get closer to the start of the 2007-08 season.  True Hoop.com has a great interview with some people who know Martin best.

So, he’s texting wanting to get into your gym to work out?
Oh yeah. He’s always in there. The Kings sent some media guys to follow him around in the weight room and stuff. He’s here in the morning many days, or in the afternoon. He’ll lift. He’ll shoot. If someone’s doing drills or something, he’ll jump in and he’s just another regular guy.

Here’s a scouting report on Martin from NBADraft.com

Yo, whatever happened to X-Clan?  “To the east my brother to the east…” 

THE BASKETBALL GODS

Louis Scola of Argentina was awarded the MVP in FIBA Americas Tournament and it seems like sports journalists are making an issue out of it. Who cares? It’s all about the RING BABY! Oly Sandor breaks it down from Hoopsvibe.com

Too many people put the emphasis on the wrong thing. I have been talking about this for years. On one hand they say American basketball players are selfish and all they care about is ’self’ so what happens when Kobe, LeBron and Carmelo play team basketball? They write about the M.V.P.

On page 82 of Phil Jackson’s “The Last Season” he explains the basketball gods.

Hit the open man, help each other out on defense, box your man out, play inside the system, don’t break off plays, and don’t force the action if you are double teamed.

Coach Cal’s kids at Memphis getting into fights late at night.  Read what he says at the end of the story reported by CBS Sportsline columnist Gary Parrish.

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!

WHY?

I just got finished watching Team USA wax, buff and simonize Argentina. Want to know why?

1-Sharing of the ball: 28 assists. Guys were hitting the open man.

2-Defense: Team USA went into lock down mode. They closed out on shooters and came up with many deflections.

3-Jason Kidd: The glue of the team. The guy wants to make others shine (how many players in the history of the game had that mentality? I can name probably about 10.) It takes a special player to want to distribute the ball more than shoot it.

4-Bring your game, not your name: Guys left their names back in the locker room and came out playing hard.

5-Pulling for each other: How many times did you see the guys on the bench standing and applauding every time their fellow American scored or did something well, plenty.

6-Determination: They hustled, dove on the floor, blocked out, rebounded, and sprinted up and down the floor.

7-Pride: They knew what was at stake. They have heard all the b.s. over the years from people who know little about the game.

8-Made shots: The shooting is better. Guys are spending time at improving from the perimeter. (Kobe is in the gym at 9AM).

In other words, Team USA…Played the Right Way!

JACK YOUR BODY

Manny ‘VinylMania’ Lehman used to spin the 12′records on Carmine Street just a few blocks from the world famous West 4th Street playground. One record that stood out in my mind this morning was by Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, (no relation to the Bob’s from Jersey City) Jack Your Body! The message was simple; Getting out on the dance floor and not being a wallflower; the same holds true for playing basketball.

Team USA is out there ‘Jacking their bodies’ in Las Vegas playing in the FIBA Americas Tournament. People wonder if it’s too much basketball for the NBA guys? They play 100 games per year and then having to play most of the summer can be a bit much on a guy like Jason Kidd. He’s not getting any younger. I’m not really sure which way I tend to lean on this debate.

I do wonder at times if it’s worth it for Team USA? Don ‘t get me wrong, I know how important it is to represent your country and all and to play for a bid in the Olympics coming up next year. But if you’re playing in the greatest basketball league on the planet (The NBA) and making millions and millions of dollars, does it matter if you play against other countries in the summer time? What is there to prove? How about taking the best high school and college players, putting them together for June and July, training them and sending those guys to play?

I don’t care about the age differences, the amount of time together (Carlos Delfino plays all year with the Pistons, he doesn’t spend any more time with Argentina) the different lane size, the ability to smack the ball off the rim, 10 minute quarters, the ugly looking ball and all that nonsense.  That stuff is irrelevant.

Every night at midnight I’m sitting here watching Argentina, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Canada,  all well-coached teams with players who play hard, and play the right way try to compete with Team USA; but the talent level is off the charts compared to Team USA. After the first quarter it turns into a joke. (BTW, is Bill Walton and John Saunders courtside or are they in the studio at Bristol?)
To conclude, I guess I’m on the fence on this whole issue. It is refreshing to see Team USA play the right way. The pundits all knock the Americans the minute they do something wrong on the floor; they are looking for the perfect game – no turnovers, 100% from the field and shutting teams out. It’ll never happen. Team USA lost a couple of games over a few years in International play and the whole basketball world went into a panic. It’s like when a kid spills milk – the parent flips out. Like my man Samuel L. Jackson who played ‘Dr. Love Joy’ in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing said, “CHILL THE *UCK OUT!”

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PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!