Bleacher Report - Articles by Danny Dragin

Watch and Enjoy with Caution...

Danny Dragin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:54:34 -0400

Don't let this happen to you!!!

Maybe you are like me. Maybe you consider yourself more than just a fan—a fanatic. You must see every game and watch all the ESPN highlights. You feel empty when you miss one. You watch SportsCenter repeatedly, over and over again.

But then you realize this takes away from the ones you love and enjoy spending time with. You find yourself glued to the television because it's the big game—the can't-miss or the must-see.

The next day at work when everyone is talking about the game, there you are, front and center, giving your version of the action. But what about the person you didn't have time for?

I bring this up with March Madness in full swing. Sixty four games is enough to make even the greatest fan sit back and question his or her own loyalty. And lest we forget about the brackets. I mean, who doesn't have a bracket these days? Little old ladies who don't know the difference between a Hoosier and a Hoya are debating...and watching.

We do love to watch these games. We love it when CBS switches us to another game that may be closer, or better yet a bracket buster game. We love the in-depth analysis that the experts give and we assume we are one as well when all is said and done.

Honestly, last Thursday and Friday, how many of us skipped work and sat in a sports bar for the better part of the day and night? When you got home and your wife asked "How was work?" did you reply "The usual?" or did you tell her, "I skipped work, watched some hoops at a bar, made some side bets, and kept track of all my brackets. How was yours? By the way, damn Drake."

What I'm saying is don't overdo it.

Enjoying sports, and the tournament in particular, can be done without sacrificing the other things that should be important to you. You don't have to give up one to enjoy the other. Sports enjoyment must be done in moderation. Overloading on it can leave you feeling empty.

I love the March Madness tournament as much as the next person. I used to fill out enough brackets that trees would fear me thinking they could be the next victim. Now I will catch a couple of games here and there, check the highlights when I can, and certainly am privy to who is playing who in the next round.

Simply put, I can hold a conversation and still consider myself a fan...no longer a fanatic.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Cheating Anyone?

Danny Dragin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:17:47 -0400

HGH... Spygate... Phonegate... Crooked referee... Steroids... Lying about ages for Little League World Series... Is anyone else getting sick of all of the cheating going on or are we just immune to it having seen it go on for so long now?

I, for one, am sick of it. I love sports. I loved the North Carolina-Duke game the other day. I love the excitement heading into the tournament. It reminds me of why I love sports.

I love spring training when everything is equal for the haves and the have nots. For a moment at least, every team has a shot. And with spring training comes the start of baseball season.

These days, it's becoming harder and harder to get excited about the tournament and baseball starting as well as the NFL draft. These days, the headlines belong to the ones who do wrong.

Rodger Clemens, Bill Belichick, Matt Walsh, Barry Bonds, Brian McNamee, Roger Goodell, and Congress. I feel like I am rewriting Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire song, but instead these are the people who are stealing the headlines on a daily basis.

The games I love are tainted. Every home run hit will have people wondering. Every bad call made in a basketball will have us all assuming. And every time a corner back jumps a wide receiver's route, we can only assume the worst.

I just wish all the cheating would just go away like Mark McGwire did. He did not admit to the wrong doing (shame on him) instead, he just disappeared.

I suppose it would be difficult to bow out gracefully. If you are telling a lie, you must convince yourself of the lie before you can convince others.

I have no problem with athletes looking for a fair advantage on the field of play. I do have a problem with what is going on in sports today. It seems there is more wrong than right, but a refreshing game like UNC-Duke, reminds me of why I truly love sports.

I just hope we don't find out later that there were illegal recruits playing, under the influence of HGH, while actually being 25 years old who received phone calls from Kelvin Sampson to tell the ref to throw the game.

Maybe I should just delve into politics...Hey, who is this Eliot Spitzer guy? Seems like a clean cut guy...

Aaron Rodgers: Set Up to Fail

Danny Dragin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:43:35 -0500

Congratulations, Aaron Rodgers! You’re now the Green Bay Packers’ new starting quarterback. More importantly, you’ve just joined an elite fraternity.

There is no President, Vice President, or Secretary. Just a bunch of members identified simply as “What's His Name?”

Your dues have already been paid in full. Mr. Rodgers, you just replaced a legend.

Why not ask fellow fraternity member, Pete Myers, how it feels?

In recent years Dan Marino, John Elway, Barry Sanders, Cal Ripken, and Tony Gwynn all retired from their respective sports after playing their entire careers in the same uniform.

And today, Brett Favre did the same. Sure he started his career with the Atlanta Falcons, but he will forever be remembered as a Green Bay Packer. For the last 16 years, he was the face of the franchise.

For the last couple of years, Aaron Rodgers has been the star in his own lonely rendition of The Apprentice.

It’s hard enough to make it to the pro level of any sport. To replace a legend makes it almost impossible to be successful.

Taking the place of a great would be the equivalent of following in your father's footsteps—if your dad were, say, Michael Jordan. You decide you want to play basketball. Sadly, your fate was sealed long before that first jump ball.

The fraternity is always looking for new members. In LA, when Kobe steps aside, it will welcome another.

When Tom Brady moves on, they’ll have to make more room. And when Peyton Manning plays his last game, the fraternity will grow again.

Elite athletes are so few and far between. We as fans cheer for these special athletes and dissect their every move. Unfortunately, by doing this, we’re also setting the next guy up for failure. Every time!

Perhaps Rodgers will find success in the NFL. But it’s very doubtful he’ll find it in Green Bay.

Sports Titles and Awards: Overrated

Danny Dragin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:39:40 -0500

I realize this may contradict what I previously wrote in a recent article. But after some thought, I am even unsure myself.

I wrote about the importance of winning the NBA championship over winning the NBA MVP award. My initial take was that the title was the defining moment in a player's career. With basketball being a team sport, I felt that the MVP award was overrated. I still do feel this way.

BUT, I think the NBA title also can be overrated. It in many cases DOES NOT define a career.

For some it does, however.

Robert Horry for instance, has six rings. He has never been the main man to lead his team, but he has hit several big shots over his career to help his teams win when they needed him the most.

Since 1980, only eight teams have won NBA championships. EIGHT! San Antonio, Miami, Detroit, LA Lakers, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Philly.

EIGHT! That leaves a lot of great players that were not on those teams off the list.

But that in no way makes them less of a player. With a guy by the name of MJ doing his thing, many great players never sniffed a title.

At center: Patrick Ewing. At power forward: Karl Malone. At small forward: Charles Barkley. At shooting guard: Reggie Miller. At point guard: John Stockton. Coming off the bench: Allen Iverson, Chris Mullin, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Kidd.

That would be one of the greatest, if not the greatest team ever assembled that NEVER won an NBA championship. I think they would have little or no trouble taking on the likes of Danny Ferry, Bill Wennington, Chris Jent, BJ Armstrong, and Beno Udrih. Together, that team has a combined ten titles between them.

All of those players got their rings riding the coattails of different NBA superstars. When you think of the Chicago Bulls, immediately you think of Jordan and Pippen. When you think of the Houston Rockets, your first thought is Hakeem Olajuwon. And when you are thinking about the Spurs, Tim Duncan is the man.

I get tired of hearing how athletes like John Elway needed to win the Super Bowl to define his career. He was great before and great after. Dan Marino never won the big one. Is he less of a quarterback because of that? Of course not.

I suppose by that thinking, Trent Dilfer will go down as one of the greatest. If Barry Sanders had the offensive line that Emmitt Smith had in Dallas, how many rings would he possibly have?

Titles and championships do not define the player. His play on the field is what will make people remember him, not a ring that is often times sold for the extra cash.

Titles, championships, and MVP awards are nice. But not winning those does not make a great athlete any less of a player.

NBA MVP: Kobe Bryant? LeBron James? Who Cares Anymore?

Danny Dragin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:04:23 -0500

I know it can't just be me. I know others out there have to be just as sick of it as I am.

It's the start of March and everywhere I look the debate is waging about who the MVP of the NBA is. Is it Kobe? Is it LeBron? Honestly, who really cares?

ESPN asks who is the MVP? Yahoo Sports wants to know who is better: Kobe or LeBron? Seriously, the playoffs have not even begun. And what's more, the real prize is in June.

Ask Dirk what he would rather have, an MVP or a title? Sure there are bragging rights, but the title is what you are remembered by. And after all, isn't basketball a team game?

Sure the MVP candidates are amazing on the court. Without them, their respective teams would not matter. And yes, we as fans tune in to see them more than anyone else. But let's keep things in perspective.

Steve Nash has been the MVP before. He is considered one of the best point guards in the game. I'm pretty sure he would trade in his MVP awards for just one title. After all, isn't the MVP award an individual award in a team sport?

At the end of the season, twelve men will be awarded rings for winning the NBA Championship. One man will win the MVP award. Perhaps he will be on that championship team.

Otherwise, to me, it really doesn't matter who the MVP award goes to.

The Forgotten Part of the Trade

Danny Dragin — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:29:29 -0500

Let me preface this by saying, it is very difficult to feel sorry for a millionaire; especially a millionaire who earns his living playing a game.

The trade deadline in the NBA ended last week, and several players and stars are getting acquainted with their new teams. As a fan, it is hard not to think of how these trades effect the teams we root for. (Side note... As a Cavalier fan, I am very happy with the trades the Cavs pulled off and am excited about the short term results it may bring.)

The Cavs were part of a three-team, 11-player deal that beat the trade deadline by exactly one minute. And in that one minute, eleven players were affected by this one trade. And that includes their families, friends, etc.

Take Joe Smith for example. For years, that has been a favorite line of NBA GMs. Smith was the number selection in the 1995 draft. Talent-wise, he has never lived up to the billing of being number one. At the start of his career, he had all the potential in the world. Now on the downside of his career, Smith has been shipped off to so many teams he may want to apply for UPS having seen so many different cities.

Joe Smith was drafted by Golden State. He then played part of a season in Philadelphia. Smith then spent some time in Minnesota, Detroit, Minnesota again, Milwaukee, Denver, Philadelphia again, Chicago, and now Cleveland.

Again, it is difficult to feel sorry for a millionaire athlete.

But when you look beyond the fact that these guys are just athletes, you realize many of them have families and loved ones that now have to deal with the trade beyond just switching jerseys.

Kids that are in school. Family and friends living in one city. Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West were living and playing in Seattle as recent as last week. Now they reside in Cleveland.

Again, hard to feel sorry for them. They make a lot of money, right?

As the number one selection, Joe Smith was supposed to stand out and move a franchise in the right direction. As the years have shown, Smith has turned out to be, for a lack of a better term, just an average Joe.

Most average Joes will play for several different teams over the course of their careers. From that standpoint as well, Joe Smith is just an average Joe.

Just an average Joe who makes a lot of money playing a sport.

Cleveland Cavaliers: No Trade Leaves LeBron James Alone

Danny Dragin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:51:16 -0500

Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marrion, Mike Bibby, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allan, and Shaquile O'Neal all could start a pretty good team.

Kobe got Gasol, Dirk got Kidd, D-Wade got Marrion, Paul Pierce got Kevin Garnett and Jesus Shuttleworth, Nash and Amare got "The Diesel", and even Josh Smith and Joe Johnson of Atlanta got help in Mike Bibby.

All LeBron James wants is some similar help. Right now he has none.

LeBron got to watch Larry Hughes struggle to find his jump shot. LeBron's hero, Michael Jordan, always had a reliable supporting cast in Scotty Pippen. Hughes' struggle with injuries has some wondering how long LeBron will wait before he changes area codes. Larry Hughes is no Pippen. In fact, with the money he is making, he should be picking up his paychecks with a ski mask on.

Who could blame LeBron for wanting to leave?

LeBron James has it all, except a chance. Every team in contention, both in the East and the West, has either a superstar and a semi-superstar or two superstars. Some even have three. LeBron plays with one consistent player.

The Cavs had zero draft picks this past season and the previous years' No. 1 pick has done very well, in the Developmental League.

Years ago everyone wanted to "be like Mike." Michael Jordan had the game, charisma, and ability to make a once meaningless team matter. In fact, they became the most recognizable team out there.

From a skill level, who wouldn't want to be like LeBron? He's a 23 year old with game. He can be a one-man show at times, but also gets all of his teammates involved. He just needs help like everyone else does.

At this point in his career, LeBron deserves better. Without him Cleveland probably would have lost the Cavs to another city. It had gotten that bad. No they are seen all over ESPN because of LeBron James. When 20,000 fans show up to see the Cavs play it isn't for Ira Newble.

General Manager Danny Ferry had better work some magic. With today being the trade deadline, no move could prove treacherous for the Cavs. It seems impossible that finding a team willing to part with talent and the salary cap issues are what is holding the Cavs back.

When LeBron got drafted first overall, the talent that followed was beyond solid. Darko never materialized, but Carmello Anthony and Dwayne Wade have done pretty well. Denver got Anthony Kenyon Martin and Allan Iverson. Wade first got Shaq, and now has Marrion. There is talk he may also get Caron Butler.

When LeBron was surrounded by talent he was at the All-Star game and really shined. He also did this for Team USA. For the Cavs he is a one-man show who is wasting his talent with players who don't amount to much.

Imagine Michael Jordan without Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and Ron Harper. Take the helpful talent found in those guys away, and Michael Jordan is in the same spot as LeBron. Still an amazing talent, but not the championship hero we all enjoyed watching.

Michael Jordan's slogan was "Wanna Be Like Mike." LeBron says in one of his commercials, "You don't want to be like me, you want to be better than me."

Without the talent he needs around him, many may outshine this true superstar.

Wasted Talent

Danny Dragin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:38:59 -0500

(From 11-21-2007)

I was watching Sports Center this evening when the story about Michael Vick came up.

Having seen enough Michael Vick to last a lifetime, I was going to change the channel.

Then they discussed a former quarterback who also fell from grace upon his own doing.

In the late seventies and early eighties, there were two quarterbacks that shaped the foundation of college football—Stanford's John Elway and Ohio State's Art Schleister. Both had a cannon for an arm. Both could do things with a football few had ever seen at the collegiate level.

Elway went on to a Hall of Fame career, captured a couple of Super Bowl rings, and put a dagger in Cleveland fans along the way. Schleister went to federal prison.

Gone is the signing bonus the Baltimore Colts gave Schleister. Forgotten are the accolades he achieved in college. Dignity, pride, and self-worth lost long before that prison door slammed shut that first night.

Schleister is a compulsive gambler. He has been in and out of federal prisons for the better part of twenty years. His wife has left him with their child. He was banned for life from the NFL. He had failed attempts in the arena football league. He was once beloved in Columbus, and is now nothing but a black eye on the program.

Fast forward to 2007. The summer of shame for Michael Vick. Once thought of as the future of the league for his unbelievable skills to run the ball, throw the ball, and put a team on his back, Vick entered a prison today, twenty-two days prior to his sentencing. How the mighty have fallen.

Vick signed a 137-million dollar contract just two years ago with the Atlanta Falcons. He was on top of the world. He became the face of the NFL. He had more endorsement dollars coming in than any other NFL player. To steal a phrase, everyone wanted to Be Like Mike.

Dog Fighting... Killing defenseless dogs... Gambling on this heinous act... How quick the bottom can fall out. At his own doing. Society can forgive a lot of things. Killing dogs is not one of them. Instead of shaping what could have been a Hall of Fame type career, Vick will be allowed two hours a day to either read, play basketball, or lift weights.

The Falcons are trying to recoup 20 million dollars worth of signing bonus. They will most likely get all of it. Vick also has several banks suing him to recoup their money as well. Vick is banned from the league until his full term is complete and even then he is not a sure thing to be reinstated.

He had the game of football in the palm of his hand. Tomorrow for two hours he will either have a book, a basketball, or a weight there instead. Canton does not open its doors to those who wasted their talents. Prisons, however, do.

Ryan Perrilloux Suspended: Some Things Never Change

Danny Dragin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:53:17 -0500

As a fan of college sports, it gets frustrating at times to see things happen over and over again.

The names may change, but the results are the same.

Today, LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux joined the ever-growing group of college athletes whose talents were wasted because they thought they were bigger than the game.

They thought they were bigger than their team, their program and their university overall.

When Perrilloux walked on to the LSU campus, he did so with several labels bestowed unto him. He was the "can't miss kid." He was the "number ranked quarterback and number one overall prospect." He was the "program changer." He was also the kid who gave a verbal commit to Texas and Mack Brown and at the last minute changed his mind and went to LSU.

Kids do these things. They say one thing and do another. I suppose it's part of growing up and becoming a man. Where your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. And your actions dictate your credibility.

Today, LSU Head Coach Les Miles made the announcement that Ryan Perrilloux is suspended indefinitely. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. This kid was once cocky and brash enough to state he would be the started over Vince Young at Texas. He was going to lead them to a National Championship.

The list of talented kids who wasted their talents is endless. Maurice Clarrett. Was jail in the plans? Todd Marinovich. Never ate a cheeseburger but smoking dope is OK? Charles Thompson. Nobody ran the wishbone offense better. In the federal pen he is in, I'm sure that is still the case. The list is endless of shattered dreams and hopes changed along the way by their own doing.

When you are as talented as Perrilloux, realistically all you have to do is show up. Your talents can usually carry you the rest of the way. But, part of being a student-athlete is the student part of the equation. Just go to class. Team meetings, just like in the real world, are not optional. If they were, nobody would want to or actually go.

The unwritten code of college athletics. Bust your ass for the coaches and your teammates. Go to the team meetings. Don't embarrass the program and go to class. The alumni and boosters would rather read about the athletes on the sports pages rather than the front page. It seems a small price to pay for free tuition, free meals, free work out facilities, open auditions every Saturday for the NFL and free exposure.

They say there is nothing like sitting in the stands at LSU stadium on a Saturday night when the Tigers take on one of their SEC rivals. This September, Perrilloux will not be able to add his opinion to that scenario.

God-given talent is hard to come by so when it is wasted it should make us all take note. Nothing in this world is given to you except your name and God-given talent. And in the snap of a finger, you can ruin both.