Bleacher Report - Articles by A.J. 512

Are the Indiana Pacers Still Hearing Voices?

A.J. 512 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:17:34 -0400

On April 16, 2008, the Indiana Pacers announced that co-owner Herbert Simon would take on the role of Chairman and CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. Jim Morris would become President of PS&E, while Larry Bird would stay on as President of Basketball Operations.

After the departure of Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh, Pacers co-owner Herb Simon found it necessary to fill the vacated position with someone to focus on reconnecting with the community and the fans.

The Pacers have become a public relations disaster, and Simon feels that Morris is the person best qualified to turn things around.

With his prior job experience feeding the hungry director of the United Nations World Food Program, Morris' resume alone is a step closer to getting the respectability this NBA franchise is starving for.

Naming someone with a job history in helping less fortunate people is the right move, given the fact that the Pacers' public image is the NBA equivalent to Sally Struthers’s kids. They’re sickly, ignored, and in need of your help.

Did you know that for the price of one ticket a day, you can make a difference in the life of an NBA franchise?

The hiring of Morris sends a message that makes sense, but that wasn’t the only message sent during the press conference.

In conjunction with announcing his new role with the franchise, Herb Simon made his intentions known. He stated, "Before I was a hands-on, hands-off owner. Now I'm going to be a hands-on, hands-on owner.”

On the surface, that statement makes about as much sense as a Jamaal Tinsley contract extension. But it seems what Mr. Simon is saying here is that his level of involvement will be increasing substantially.

One would assume that Morris would be in charge of the Pacers' P.R., and Larry Bird would be in control of Basketball Operations with Simon overseeing both. This assumption is completely logical, considering the reasons given for Donnie Walsh moving onto the New York Knicks.

One Voice

During the press conference, the phrase “one voice” was used ad nauseum.

Either Bird or Walsh really wanted the public to think they had fixed the problem of having too many cooks in the kitchen. Or maybe they had a bet going—whoever said the phrase the least number of times had to take on the remainder of Jermaine O’Neal’s contract.

Wednesday’s press conference became interesting during the Q&A session after the announcement.

If you weren’t paying close attention, the most eyebrow-raising moment came when Larry Bird was asked if he felt Jermaine O’Neal fit in with the style the Pacers are trying to play. Basically, this was a roundabout way of bringing up what Bird intended to do with O’Neal in the offseason.

Bird gave your typical answer, referring to O’Neal’s injury, but did not open the door to discussing any trade intentions.

At this moment, Herb Simon felt moved to interject with this comment:

“Since I'm not the basketball man, I'd like to answer that question. If Jermaine gets back to the playing ability he has had and has shown us in the past he'd be a very important part of our team.”

A slight moment of awkward silence followed, the kind you’d find numerous times in an episode of The Office.

One voice? Really?

Did he really just start by saying, "since I'm not the basketball man,” followed by making a statement that appeared as though he had made one of the two major basketball decisions the team faces this offseason?

If O’Neal returns in good health, you’d think the Pacers would attempt to get rid of him immediately. The window of Jermaine O’Neal's good health doesn’t stay open long, so why wouldn’t the Pacers capitalize on it, and be free of a player who doesn’t fit their new system and has a contract that’s crippling the franchise?

What’s ironic is that at the press conference, when asked about how important it was to have one voice after so many years of having two voices, Simon replied, "I think that's maybe one of the side benefits of clarifying the situation (Walsh leaving), having Larry's voice being the only voice.

“Some people got confused. I liked having both of them, but I think we're going to do very well with Larry.”

When Walsh left for New York, it seemed as though Bird would finally get the chance to sink or swim on his own. At this point it is unclear who is responsible for all the poor management decisions made by the Pacers’ front office.

How much say Bird had versus Walsh may never be known to the public. But with Bird now solely at the helm, it looks as though we might get an idea based on what he accomplished after Walsh left.

With one little remark, all of that comes into question. Does Bird have complete control of what happens on the court? Has Herb Simon just placed himself into the “basketball man” role behind the scenes? What exactly is the difference between a hands-on, hands-off owner and a hands-on, hands-on owner?

That might be too many questions for only one voice to answer.

Fortunately, it seems in their attempt to reorganize and become more focused, the Pacers are back to having more voices than Frank Caliendo.

March Madness: "Why America Loves Me"

A.J. 512 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:46:48 -0400

I am March Madness.

I’m a college basketball bonanza, an advertising asset, a workplace distraction, a “calling in sick for the day “ rationalization, a money maker, a money taker, and all around sports spectacular for everyone to enjoy. All those things are obvious, but I ask you, “Do you know what it is about me that makes me so beloved?”

I'm reliable.

You can bet on me. Each spring, like flowers blooming, warmer weather, and tax bills, I return without fail. There’s no labor strike, writer’s strike, player’s strike, or union hold-out here.

I'm original.

I’m the grandfather of fantasy sports. Where do you think it all got started? Participants research teams, player stats, and conference records to make the right picks for each game. They also charge a fee to participate with the sum total going to the person who knows me best after it’s all over.

Does the almost addictive way people follow me through the course of events each year sound like anything else you know? Long before you fantasy folks were creating your draft boards down in your basements, my brackets were making the rounds through offices faster than promiscuous secretaries.

I'm not looking for a long-term commitment.

Sure, you're passionate about me now, but by the end of the month we’ll have shared our last song at the big dance and you’ll be ready to move on.

I’ve accepted this fact and have come to the conclusion that this only makes our time together more special. You appreciated me more because you’re not locked into month after month of meaningless games. You fill out my brackets once and you're done for the year.There’s no updating your roster, no trading, no waivers, and no injury reports to be tied down to.

I’m short, sweet, and gone before I’ve over stayed my welcome—the MLB and the NBA could learn a lot from me.

I'm easy.

I don’t require you to be a sports savant to score with me. In fact, in my pools, quite often the person who goes all the way with me is the person who knows the least about me. My brackets are appealing to almost everyone, and if handled well, I can make the biggest nerd in the pool look cool to all his sports-crazed co-workers.

I'm exciting and unpredictable.

Does the term “Cinderella team” mean anything to you? Tiny schools that you’ve never heard of defeating national powerhouses make must-see-t.v. Not to mention all the gambling. I can cause more financial loss than today’s housing market. My brackets get more money spent on them than an NFL free agent.

For those that know what I’m about, the potential for disaster and success make me dangerous, intriguing, and irresistible.

I'm decisive.

When it’s all said and done, I leave you with only one winner. On the court, your office pool, or your online fantasy hoops challenge, there’s nothing to debate. Once my brackets are set, the ultimate winner is decided by it’s participants. No high tech computer software or agenda driven voters decide who my champion is.

With all this being said, I know that over the course of the other eleven months you barely think of me, but make no mistake, I know at the beginning of March you’ll be longing for the next dance.

Kelvin Sampson's Next Moves, Jason Kidd Trade, Larry Bird Rights(?), Notre Dame's Offense, and Cubs World Series Predictions

A.J. 512 — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:29:41 -0500

It was recently announced that Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor would be a participant in the next season of Dancing with the Stars on ABC. What is he thinking?

With Bill Parcells in control of the Dolphins there’s no doubt that come the first few days of practice, Taylor’s official practice uniform will consist of tap shoes and a tu tu.

Isn’t that show supposed to feature former athletes and race car drivers (mutually exclusive-you decide)? Shouldn’t Taylor leave that gig open for all of his former teammates or anyone else who might be out of a job by then?

Perhaps a certain coach in Bloomington for instance? Kelvin Sampson would be perfect. His image could use a lift and if he can move on the dance floor the way he dances around NCAA regulations, he’ll do just fine. Sampson’s always been a hard worker, so no need to worry about him phoning in a performance.

Besides, succeeding on that show depends on phone calls and text messages and Kelvin knows all about that.

Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade may have Fab Fives but Sampson and his staff have Fab Five...Hundreds! The only problem is that if all the kids Sampson called illegally would return the favor, he would only last until there were only four or five contestants left.

That’s OK though. After all, it’s not like IU fans aren’t used to their coach being sent home before making it to the final four.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the trade to get Jason Kidd out of New Jersey and back to Dallas was finalized this week. The Mavericks acquired Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright from New Jersey for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Moe Ager, the retired Keith Van Horn, an unemployed hot dog vender to be named later, two first-round draft picks, and $3 million.

Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell replaced Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George in the original proposal. George had exercised his Larry Bird rights to stop the original deal from going any further. FG has to wonder: If the Mavs couldn’t get it done with Steve Nash, how can they with an aging Jason Kidd?

Kidd has elected to wear the number two for the Mavericks for what has been reported to represent his second time around with Mark Cuban’s team. It’s FG’s opinion that the number really represents how many playoff games they can expect to win.

Speaking of Devean George exercising his Larry Bird rights, had anyone ever heard of the “Bird rights” before this trade went south? FG will be honest, it had no idea what they were and if asked a month ago, the response would have been one of three options:

A) The right for an NBA player to compete with a mullet and shorts that aren’t long enough.

B) The right to be an active NBA player with a three inch vertical jump or less.

C) The right to make obscene gestures during the course of an NBA sanctioned event.

Fair Game calls a timeout.

This just in: There has been an amendment to the “Bird rights” that protects NBA General Managers from being fired for giving long term contracts to players that either spend more time in a police lineup than an NBA starting lineup, have grossly misunderstood the role of a shooting guard, or just flat out should’ve been traded.

Time in.

Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis announced this week that he would not be calling the plays for the offense next season. FG gives kudos to Weis for doing what he thinks is best for the team. After watching every snap this past season, any change seems like it would be an improvement.

Who’s to say that Weis was the real problem though? Do we know for sure that the center and QB Jimmy Klausen don’t have legitimate depth perception problems? That would explain all those snaps sailing over Klausen’s head.

Can anyone prove their running backs weren’t suffering from severe dyslexia? .ylekil toN. Maybe when Weis showed them the running plays on paper they honestly thought they were supposed to run in the opposite direction of the end zone. It’s all speculation of course and FG has to admit that looking back, last year’s low-lights were almost comical.

Although the “run-for-your-life” offense won’t exactly be missed, some good did come from it. The coaching staff found out exactly what areas needed a little work and what areas needed a lot. Klausen mastered the bad snap, dive-and-cover, fumble recovery, fetal position-technique that might come in handy someday if he were ever attacked by a bear.

Who knows, next year they might finish a game or two with a positive number in the yards rushing column. On the bright side, at least no one can say they lost another bowl game last year!

Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster stated in interviews this week that he thought the Cubs were going to win the World Series this year. Are you kidding me? Ryan, just worry about your pitches staying on the right side of the ivy at Wrigley, OK pal?

What good comes from highlighting an inevitable failure? How has it worked out for people who claim they’re going to beat Tiger? Not well. Should A-Rod state that he is going to be the Yankees post season MVP...in Spring Training? Does Shaq proclaim he’s going to make a free-throw before the game?

The answer to both is no for the same reason: Neither outcome is likely and predicting otherwise only makes the failure more embarrassing.

Dempster needs to learn a lesson that FG did long ago. To a Chicago Cub, or one of its fans, the World Series is like a woman it once met a LONG time ago in passing and has since admired from afar. Each season the Cubbie builds up its confidence, gives it all he’s got, marches right up to her out of the blue, and plants one on her right in the kisser.

In the moment, anything seems possible. It’s scary, unpredictable, and exciting. Unfortunately, it’s been so long since they’ve seen one another the woman has no idea who he is.

Of course, it always ends the same—more abruptly than anticipated with the Chicago Cub (and its fans) experiencing the kind of pain only a knee to the groin can bring. Ultimately, the highly sought after woman goes home with the guy (ball club) who’s spent the most money trying to get her...and it always seems like he’s from New York or Boston.

Time's up. GAME OVER!!!