This afternoon, the NBA announced that Darius Songaila would be suspended for a flagrant foul he gave LeBron James in Game 5. When I think about it, it makes me mad. At first, I thought I was mad at the suspension decision by Stu Jackson. Then, I thought to myself. Nah – I’m mad at those refs for not having the discernment to see an acting job. But then, it dawned on me. The NBA’s hands are tied on this one. In order to comply with David Stern’s efforts to clean up the game, when you think about it, there is no other choice. My frustration really should be directed at LeBron James for pulling off that Academy Award Winning Performance (golf clap). The refs can’t be expected to be omniscient and know the real intentions of players’ actions. They have to give the benefit of the doubt that the player that is faking the injury (presuming it’s a convincing enough act) is in fact injured; not the other way around. And, likewise – when they issued the Flagrant (granted they must’ve issued it today because it was a technical during the game) on Songaila – the presumption upon review is that this is real authentic footage of NBA basketball play, not some long lost video clip of amateurs imitating an old three-stooges stunt.
But, lets not dwell on that… Thank goodness the NBA saw the error in their ways and even if the Wizards don’t get the free throws that they should’ve gotten for LeBron raising his elbow on Andre Blatche in Game 1, at least he got a retroactive flagrant foul too (still would’ve been nice simply because every point counts – especially in this series). I know LeBron’s going to be thinking about being issued a flagrant (after the fact) tonight in Game 6 (not).
People like myself who get angered over these little things, need to take a step back. Take a deep breath. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking these playoffs are handled with some double standard. That’s silly. I mean money talks (and LeBron is marketable AND hip), but hey this is a game managed by professional and objective refs (like Donaghy) who don’t have human preferences or emotions (or greed like Donaghy). For example, lets go back to the elbow to Andre Blatche in Game 1. See, that’s not really an elbow. It was a slide across the cheek by Lebron’s elbow because there just wasn’t any space. When asked about it as reported by the News-Herald, LeBron simply stated, "It wasn't intentional. Me being one of the best drivers and creators and and-one play-makers in the game, I was definitely trying to get the and-one and I just got him on the chin. I know he felt it, but it wasn't anything intentional." Wait, did he just say he was one of the best drivers and creators and and-one play-makers in the game??? Never mind, Andre can act too you know. Anyways, it serves Andre right because he did it to LeBron earlier in that game. And, we KNOW LeBron can act.
So what can we expect in Game 6 which will be happening in the next 5-10 minutes? We know now that the NBA has indicated that any hits to LeBron’s noggin will lead to an automatic suspension.
Top Ten Things That Will Happen In Game 6 of the Wizards-Cavs Series
10) There will be no headbands on the court floor for the first three quarters.
9) There will be subtle pushes by Z on Andre Blatche to force contact on Lebron when he goes for the shot.
8) Gibson’s infectious smile will be followed by the loud crack of a white towel.
7) LeBron will completely miss the rim on at least 3 different shots.
6) Haywood is going to tell LeBron in the final quarter, “This one is for Songaila…” before giving him a love tap.
5) Delonte West will explain in his heavy drawl something no one will understand.
4) There will be no Darius Songaila to get your chicken wing caught up in and manipulate for a fake-me-out old-English back slap.
3) Gilbert will be in street clothes outside the MCI Center passing out free copies of “God Save the Fan”.
2) Jay-Z will be there to “Blow the whistle” on Soulja Boy.
And the number one thing that will likely happen in Game 6 of the Wizards-Cavs playoff series?
1) Someone in the sea of Cavalier fans watching the game on TV will ultimately shout, “DC Sit down!”
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2 months ago
Even as a Cavs fan, I fail to see the logic in a suspension of Songaila. Of all the flagrants handed out in that series, Songaila's was the most undeserving. I don't care what anybody says; I'm convinced that his contact to LeBron's face was not intentional, but at the same time, I don't think that LeBron exaggerated it.
What amazes me more than Songaila's suspension, though, is how Stu Jackson didn't have the balls to suspend Haywood for his shove. It's obvious that he regrets not suspending Haywood or Stevenson, but as a Wizard fan you should be thankful that it was Songaila that is taking the fall for their rough-housing instead of one of them.
All that being said, I think your assessment of the situation is biased and sloppy. The only double standard that needs to be addressed here is how the league is so readily willing to suspend bench players but not starters - at least not this year. Perhaps they decided that the strict interpretation that led to Stoudamire's suspension in the playoffs last year was detrimental.
from 2 months ago
As you requested, I will clarify.
I use the word "biased" because it seems to me that you are writing from too strong of a Washington perspective. You spend a lot of time discussing alleged acting on LeBron's part and fail to mention the previous flagrant fouls - events that, no doubt, had a major impact on Songaila's suspension. Also your comment "that the NBA has indicated that any hits to LeBron’s noggin will lead to an automatic suspension." is without merit since Stevenson's foul on James (also a shot to his head) did not result in a suspension or even an ejection.
I use the word "sloppy" mainly because I think you ignored the issue of the previous flagrant fouls having an effect on how Songaila's foul was treated. As I alluded to in my previous comment, this suspension has less to do with any "acting" that LeBron did and more to do with the fouls that had occured during previous games in the series. I want to emphasize that I'm calling your assessment sloppy and not your writing.
I just think you should have read up a little bit more on this before writing about it. From what I can tell, the Washington Post was your one and only source. Maybe I'm wrong in that assumption, but I think that if you had looked up other articles about it then you would have realized that there was a bigger issue here behind this lame suspension.
Other than that, it was a nice first attempt at an article. I would recommend breaking up your paragraphs a bit more so it's easier to read, but other than that it was pretty good. I hope you keep writing.
from 2 months ago
Thanks Matt -- I agree that perhaps I should've put in more sources but was running out of time (it was probably a bad idea to even do this article given the circumstances). The comment about an automatic suspension if Lebron's noggin was hit -- was a paraphrase from the NBA's Stu Jackson (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3378490) -- not the Post -- and btw was made in response to the alleged swap by Stevenson. That is a well documented point -- that was more publicized at the national level I felt -- then in DC. I debated in my head on how much meat should I really insert in this one -- because I had read so much on this from both sides. But, in the end -- due to time, I felt it was appropriate within the confines of humor/satire... as mentioned in the teaser.
I confess that I did take this from a Wizards slant -- but I thought I conceded enough to warrant it being readable for even Cavs fans -- especially in the light of humor and/or satire. The main goal of the article was to point out how silly it had all become and that even the most serious sports fans will find it hard to really make much sense of it all. I would contend however the bigger issue is not so easily captured in a light-hearted article. I did attempt to spray paint over the issue and try to take a more superficial stance and go for the top ten list (Letterman) -- to push the whole feel of the article to the point of ridiculous... still hoping it would be fun to read. Thanks for your feedback.
2 months ago
Yes, this was a lame suspension. There were 3 plays more waranting of a suspension that this. James' elbow to Andre Blatche, Haywood's shove of James and Stevenson's clothesline of James'. The NBA really needs to set up a clear definition of suspendable offenses.
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