Small sponsor patches in the NBA are hardly a big deal

Years ago, back when I was still in high school, I was really into Adbusters and Naomi Klein and signed up for a course called Media Studies, taught by a new teacher called Ms. Bell, who was the kind of person who used to reprimand people for buying shirts with logos on them: why would you pay to be a billboard, she’d ask them, it’s supposed to go the other way around.

I thought of her when I heard about the NBA’s plan to put ads on jerseys.

The NBA’s plan is to out a small sponsor logo on the uniform, a patch “inches above the heart”, as a Bloomberg report so colorfully puts it. That report estimates these patches will bring in something like $100 million a season, which is pretty good money but nothing compared to some deals the NBA already has in place. Both TNT and ESPN pay over $900 million a year for broadcasting rights, for instance.

And it’s not exactly like the league is hemorrhaging money, either: 15 teams lost money in the 2010-11 season, but the collective bargaining agreement shifted revenue towards owners, meaning they’re not really out that much. So it’s not exactly as if the league needs this patch money, but who ever turned down free cash?

The reaction to this has been surprising to me: a blatantly unscientific poll on Bleacher Report has over 75 per cent of people against it, saying the NBA is “selling out,” a phrase I’m sure I understand in this context: how can someone making mega amounts of cash be not selling out? And the Bleacher Report article raises a good point: teams already play in million-dollar arenas named after corporate sponsors.

But it goes a little deeper than that, and I’m not sure people quite realize it.

Jack McCallum’s new history on the Dream Team repeats a story about Michael Jordan I’ve been fascinated by since I first heard about it years ago: when the team won gold, they were required to go to the podium wearing a certain jacket, part of a sponsorship deal. Reebok made the jackets and Jordan is a Nike guy. Jordan resolved this situation with an artfully clever solution, draping a flag over his shoulder and covering up the logo Reebok had so thoughtfully placed in a prominent spot.

Anybody who thinks that jersey-making companies don’t place their logo in a conspicuous spot is kidding nobody. The NBA has it’s logo on one shoulder, in a spot where it’s sure to be in every photo. The NHL likewise has one right at the neck of the jersey. If you buy a jersey, be it a Dream Team throwback or a Tyreke Evans road jersey, there’s a little logo on the other shoulder. You may not notice it, but you’re already advertising a company when you wear one.

In advertising, there’s a concept called effective frequency. Essentially, it expresses the number of times somebody needs to see an ad before it takes effect. My favorite take is Thomas Smith’s from 1885, which says it’ll take 20 views. Simply put, just seeing an ad once isn’t effective.

The NBA isn’t the first league to put ads on jerseys. It’s a staple in Europe, where ads on the field and on the players take the place of commercial breaks. Here in North America, they’re just on players in the CFL and sometimes own entire soccer teams.

And here’s the rub: they didn’t mean the league sold out, they didn’t ruin the play. Honestly, they’re something one doesn’t even notice: last time I saw a CFL game in person, I couldn’t make out players nameplates, let alone a small patch. It works better on TV (where everything is already sponsored anyway) and even better in print, when a patch is immortalized in a photograph.

It’s honestly a drop in the bucket of the exposure we all get to advertising everyday. As a society, we’re bombarded with ads every day, most of it unconsciously. From product placement to billboards on buses to a Subway logo on the score ticker, they’re everywhere. Having a small patch on a jersey is hardly a tipping point.

Jack McCallum's Dream Team and the basketball book pantheon

I finished Jack McCallum’s new book about the Dream Team today. It’s a good read – look for a review at The Good Point and maybe elsewhere sometime soon – and I enjoyed it a lot.

There’s one thing about it, though, that keeps nagging at the back of my mind: how often McCallum turns to other authors. It’s not something he does often, but every so often he quotes a passage from Jackie MacMullan’s When the Game Was Ours or Bill Simmons The Book of Basketball and occasionally from something else. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just kind of a weird thing to me. After all, he interviewed Magic Johnson, so why is he using a quote of his from another book?

That’s a minor thing, but it got me thinking about those books. And once I started with that, I went a little further and looked at all the basketball books I own and thinking about the ones I’ve read and how they all compare. What follows is a few words about my favorite basketball books and if I'd recommend them over Dream Team. 

A Season on the Brink – John Feinstein

I suppose this is the definitive book about college hoops – it’s certainly the best known one, anyway – and for good reason: Feinstein’s long look at a still-incendiary Bobby Knight is occasionally breathtaking, and not in a positive way. Knight was a destructive force: everyone probably has a mental snapshot of him tossing a chair across the court and maybe feels that he’s an irritable guy, but as I remember this book – it’s been a few years since I read it – Knight comes like a tyrant, not the gruff guy he sometimes seems like on ESPN.

Would I recommend it over Dream Team? Yes, especially if you like college hoops.

Heaven is a Playground – Rick Telander

Another one I read a long time ago, back when I read something like four or five sports books a month. While writing this, Telander spent something like an entire summer living in New York and hanging out on concrete courts around people like Fly Williams and Albert King. It’s a good read, even if it’s depressing: the abject poverty, the drugs just off to the side of the court – a memorable scene has a player turning down something that looks like orange juice: methadone – and the divide between Telander and the kids that can’t be bridged all add up after a while.

Would I recommend it over Dream Team? Nope. It’s good, but not quite as good and it’s a little dated to boot.

The Last Shot – Darcy Frey

Here, Frey spends time in Coney Island, an outpost of despair. His book is tragic, with one of the principals dying and it’s most successful figure is Stephon Marbury, whose career is nothing if not checkered. I remember reading this on a bus, riding back from Moncton to Oshawa, and plowing through it in one sitting. It’s a powerful book, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s right up there with Hoop Dreams.

Would I recommend it over Dream Team? It’s a tough one, but I would: this is one of favorite sports reads.

The Miracle of St. Anthony – Adrian Wojnarowski

This is another one about basketball in the inner city, although this is more of an upper than the two previous. Here Wojnarowski spends time around Bob Hurley, coach at a school in New Jersey, and looks at how the program keeps kids out of gangs, wins games and now single-minded Hurley is: as he approaches his 800th win, a top ranking in the country and has games televised, his teams practice in a gym that’s falling apart, in a school struggling to make ends meet. I remember enjoying the hell out of this one.

But I wouldn’t recommend it over Dream Team, especially if you’re familiar with the PBS documentary on Hurley.

Loose Balls – Terry Pluto

I’ve written about this book before, as has pretty much everyone else ever – so chances are you know how good this one is: it’s pretty much the benchmark for oral histories, a book that manages to be both illuminating (especially in how the league was formed) and entertaining (any of the Marvin Williams stories, for instance). Would I recommend it over Dream Team? Yes, in a heartbeat.

Wilt – Wilt Chamberlain and David Shaw

Written before Wilt decided to do things like attempt to play pro volleyball, coach in the ABA (and in pretty rad pants) and claim he slept with 10,000 women. This is more about his earlier years, ranging from his time at Kansas to tangling with Bill Russell in the postseason. And he doesn’t hold back, either, talking frankly about discrimination and how much he didn’t like his coaches, throwing some of them under the bus. Also he was and Nixon were friends?

Would I recommend it over Dream Team? No. It’s a fun biography (his second one is even crazier), but it’s not a good a read.

Playing for Keeps – David Halberstam

Maybe the definitive Michael Jordan bio will never be written, given how private he seems to be and how much everyone likes him. But this work by Halberstam comes damn close: it’s a detailed look a the first two phases of Jordan’s career, ending with the 1998 championship run, and was the first place I remember hearing a lot of Jordan lore: Larry Bird’s quote after Jordan scored 62 in the playoffs, the flag draped over a Reebok logo, the gambling debts, etc. Like pretty much everything Halberstam wrote, it’s packed with research, well written and really enjoyable, even if Jordan didn’t really take part in it. It’s another one I’d recommend over Dream Team.

Seven Seconds or Less – Jack McCallum

His book previous to Dream Team is also good and arguably better: McCallum spent a season on the bench with the Suns, embedded and researching for this book, and was there for a wild playoff run that forms the backbone of this: a back-and-forth seven game series against the Lakers, a chippy series against the Clippers and them running out of gas against Dallas in a memorable conference final. His portraits of players like the moody, enigmatic Amare Stoudemire, the insecure Shaun Marion and the irreplaceable Steve Nash really push this book over the top: it’d have been easy to write something about how much fun this team was to watch, but he went further into how this team ticked. Would I recommend it over Dream Team? Definitely, yeah: it’s maybe my favorite basketball book.

The Breaks of the Game – David Halberstam

Another one I haven’t read in a while, although I can remember where I bought it (a little hole-in-the-wall store in downtown Oshawa) which is more than I can say for most of my books. It claims it’s a season-long look at the 1978 Portland Trail Blazers, although it’s really more than that: it’s a look at the NBA as it’s in trouble and struggling to stay alive. It wasn’t just the drug problem, which everyone points to now: Halberstam points to reasons like ABC Sports losing the contract and deciding to crush the league’s ratings by running made-for-TV sports at the same time. It’s enjoyable, another of my favorites and it’s back in print, too! I had a hell of a time finding a copy back when it was still OOP. Another I’d recommend over Dream Team and would especially recommend reading right before, if only to appreciate where the league had to overcome before it could get to the Olympics.

Let Me Tell You A Story – Red Auerbach and John Feinstein

Red never wrote an autobiography, so it’s nice that something like this came out: Feinstein hung around the legendary figure for a while and was able to get some stories about the golden years of the league out of him. It’s a fun read, especially enjoyable if you’re into either the Celtics or basketball history, but it’s a lesser effort from Feinstein and never really rises beyond “Here’s Red telling some cool stories in each chapter.” I wouldn’t recommend it over Dream Team.

The Free Darko Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac

A dark horse for best basketball book of the last decade, the first Free Darko book is a collection of profiles, infographics and the occasional illustration that’s dripping with insight, wit and charm. Granted, those sound like empty review words, but it’s a book which is equally funny and informative. It goes into why a temper is good for Ron Artest, into Kobe Bryant’s intense drive for perfection and why Vince Carter is unfairly maligned (and not just by Toronto). But it also is packed with good gags, like Isiah Rider applying for a job at Starbucks, rankings of How Euro various countries are and the wisdom of Rasheed Wallace. I’m torn if I’d recommend it over Dream Team, though: there’s a sort of implied knowledge here, that you know this book is half tongue in cheek but also really damn clever. If you don’t remember Free Darko, chances are this book isn’t for you.

The Book of Basketball – Bill Simmons

A gargantuan book, a huge ranking of players and seasons by someone who’s maybe incapable of writing short columns. The Book of Basketball was probably designed more to start arguments than to resolve them, and I suppose it does that pretty damn well since I disagree with a bunch of stuff here, but when read front to back, it’s a struggle to get through. Not only because it’s so long, not only because so much of what Simmons argues seems to be arbitrary (but aren’t all rankings?) but because he keeps making porn and sex jokes and it frankly gets a little weird after a while. Still, gotta admire the effort and there’s a good bibliography of basketball books in the back.

Would I recommend it over Dream Team? No, because it’s really just way too much of a thing. It’s a great thing to pick up once in a while and work your way through – much like another huge book, the Norton Anthology of World Literature – but it’s something of a slog.

That pretty much covers the basketball books I own and have read, although there’s a few other good ones I’m not going into detail over since I don’t have them handy: Pistol by Mark Kriegel, Tall Tales by Terry Pluto, Red and Me by Bill Russell and Alan Steinberg.

Whatever you do, don’t read that one Paul Shirley wrote, it’s self-obsessed trash and he’s pretty scummy to boot.

The Good Point: The re-invention of the NBA through the Western Conference Finals

Over at The Good Point, I weigh in on the NBA's Western Conference Final and especially on how the San Antonio Spurs have changed from a boring, borderline unlikable team into one of the most exciting and compelling in basketball. To wit:

Don’t make the mistake of sleeping on this Spurs team. Yes, Duncan is old, as at 3, he’s older than everyone on the Thunder, save Derek Fisher. They don’t have the same star power Oklahoma City does. Durant finished second in MVP voting, Parker a distant fifth and Duncan picked up one fourth-place vote. Yet they roared into the postseason with the top seed in the west with the best SRS in their conference and were tied with the Bulls for the best record in the NBA.

Still, it’s more than that. It’s taken years, but the Spurs have emerged as one of the most enjoyable teams in the league. It wasn’t too long ago that the Spurs played a style of basketball usually called boring: Duncan backing into the post, a half spin, a bank shot that rattles in. Their most recent championship was a Finals sweep of the LeBron-led Cavs, where the Spurs scored around 80 points per game. They were a team easy to dislike and easy to hate, especially after bloodying Steve Nash.

Click here to read the whole thing! 

The Good Point: Love for MVP? Plus NHL Playoff Picks!

My latest for The Good Point looks at why Kevin Love is getting attention in the NBA's Most Valuable Player race, despite being outplayed in almost every way by LeBron James. To wit:

By almost any standard basketball metric, LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now. He has the highest Player Efficiency Rating at 30.7 and 12.2 Win Shares; best in the league. On his own team, he’s putting up better numbers than the other 60 percent of the big three, especially in shooting stats like True Shooting or Effective Field Goal percentages.

In other words, James is putting up better numbers than anyone in the league, is the best player on his team, itself one of the NBA’s best. This guy should be a shoo-in for MVP, right?

So why is Kevin Love getting to much attention right now?

 Click here to read the whole thing!

And while you're here, click here to read my Good Point review of Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding!

Finally, my annual NHL Playoff picks follow the jump.

The Good Point: Durant and Westbrook...

I was thinking about the NBA's MVP race a few days ago and wondered: can your team be too good for you to be the MVP?

It depends on how you define MVP: does it go to the league's best overall player, or to the player who means the most to their team? If one player completely outclasses another statistically, can he still be less valuable?

I guess what I'm really asking is: will Russell Westbrook cost Kevin Durant a MVP award? From my article:

This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder may be the NBA’s best team. They’ve got the best record in the competitive Western Conference and are among the NBA’s best teams in advanced stats like SRS (third with 6.40) or offensive rating (second, with 108.6). This is happening largely thanks to two young stars: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Their game styles may not completely mesh, but they’re working well together this year. Only a few weeks ago, they combined for an amazing box score in a win over Denver.  Durant scored 51, Westbrook scored 40, plus nine assists, and Serge Ibaka picked up a triple double: 14 points, 11 blocks and 15 rebounds. Most teams would be lucky to have one player with this level of talent. That the Thunder have two is amazing.

Click here to read the whole thing.

The Good Point: Sonics - There and back again

My latest for The Good Point is about a team that doesn't exist anymore.

Okay, that's a little misleading. This is also about the Sacramento Kings, haunted by arena issues and the ghost of the Sonics. But Seattle is very much in the forefront here, too: from arena talk of this own, an owner willing to spend vast sums of his own money and the green and gold, showing up in the background of games everywhere in the NBA.

It seemed oddly fitting when the Sacramento Kings hosted Oklahoma City on Feb. 9. The former Sonics were playing a team whose owners are looking for a new arena and blogs asking – maybe even telling fans to chant and bring flyers that read “HERE-WE-STAY,” hoping TNT’s national audience would hear it on their only national TV appearance.

The game sold out and enough people wore dark colors that Kevin Harlan called it a blackout. When the Kings roared to an 11-2 lead, the crowd erupted in a frenzy.  It was hard not to think back to the 2002 playoffs. It would be a real shame if the Kings left town. Unfortunately, that’s a real possibility.

Click here to read the whole thing.

When losing isn't a bad thing: A postcard from Toronto

How long was Rasual Butler holding the ball for? Was it for a a full five seconds? Less? More? There’s a report he asked the referee to count out loud, which probably wasn’t enough. And for what it’s worth, he shouldered the blame, but that’s not what people will remember: they’ll remember him standing there, getting the ball for the first time all game, for what the NBA would later rule was 5.8 seconds, failing to get the ball in bounds.

That’s not fair to Butler, and it's the wrong thing to take from Sunday's game; which was, even after 48 minutes, exactly the best kind of game the Raptors could have played this season.

Official North of the 400 NBA Playoff picks, first round

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Detroit
Obviously Cleveland in this series. I think Detroit's too old and too banged up to even pose much of a threat, really. Cavs in five.

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Chicago
You know what, now that Garnett's maybe out for the whole postseason, I feel like the Bulls can pull off a huge upset. I like the way they've been playing lately, there's some good matchups and if they can steal an early win in Boston they'll have a great chance at winning this series. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Bulls in seven.

No. 3 Orlando vs. No. 6 Philadelphia
I don't know if I'm sold on Orlando going too deep, but I think they'll get past Philly without a lot of problems. Orlando in five.

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Miami
I'm taking Miami since I really like the way Wade's played this season and I haven't really seen Atlanta play much. Miami in six.

Western Conference

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 8 Utah
I think the Jazz are starting to self-destruct and the Lakers will walk all over them. I don't even think it'll even have a close game. Lakers in 4.

No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 New Orleans
I really like this matchup. More then anything, I like the Billups/CP3 matchup. It's a great point against a George Karl-coached point, so I think it'll be neat. I like what little I've seen of the Nuggets, so I'm going to take them to win in six.

No. 3 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Dallas
I also really like this too. Normally I'd like the Spurs, but with Manu out and Duncan hurt, this could go either way. And since the Spurs are relying on Roger Mason Jr. to make big shots, I'll take the Mavs in seven.

No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Houston
Another cool series, too. I really like Houston this year (mostly because I want them to win without T-Mac) but Portland is fun to watch and I like Brandon Roy a lot. I think Portland's inexperience will be a factor, though, so I like Houston in six.

Avery, Marbury Are Birds Af A Feather

With Stephon Marbury expected to sign with the Boston Celtics sometime today, one expects that New Yorkers will breathe a little easier. But as a certain hockey player comes closer and closer to coming to New York, another headache is on the horizon.

The player is Sean Avery, late of the Dallas Stars, currently filling a spot on the Rangers AHL affiliate. Like Marbury, he had signed with a big market team for a bundle and wore out his welcome fast. After stirring up problems in the dressing room, both players found themselves not playing their sport at all.

Marbury’s off-court antics (peaking in an infamous truck party) and fights with management led to an exile from the team and his eventual banning from practice. Avery’s off-ice problems – and especially saying Dion Phaneuf went after his sloppy seconds – led to his out from the league.

Both were suspended indefinitely, not allowed to dress for games or attend practice or even travel with the team. Avery went to counseling, Marbury infamously flew to LA to watch his Knicks play the Lakers.

And now, both players could end up in a homecoming kind of way. Avery is likely headed to the Rangers, the team where he first rose in stature in the past few seasons. Marbury is likely to sign with the Boston Celtics, where he would play alongside Kevin Garnett again, like his did in his Minnesota days.

Let’s not get carried away here, though, since there are some pretty big differences between the two. Marbury is the more talented of the two and in his prime was one of the best point guards in the NBA. He went to two All-Star games, led the league in assists in 2004 and has been named to two All-NBA teams.

Avery, at his best, is been a second-line forward who works best by drawing the other team into taking penalties. True, he scored 18 goals once, but he’s only had one season – his first – with less then a 150 penalty minutes.

Obviously, Marbury coming to the Celtics means a lot more on paper then Avery coming to the Rangers does.

The Celtics now have somebody to backup Rondo and Marbury is an improvement from Sam Cassell. Boston is hoping that either Garnett’s influence or Marbury’s desire to win a title will temper any problems that may arise, like if Marbury decides he doesn’t want to come off the bench.

Of course, him acting out is unlikely and doesn't give Marbury any credit. At this point in his career, Marbury likely realizes his situation and won't stir up much trouble.

But if Avery comes to New York, he doesn’t add much. A little depth, perhaps, but he doesn’t address their problems: their lack of a scorer, their lack of defence and their power play – it’s ranked 28th in the NHL right now, behind Tampa Bay, the NY Islanders and Phoenix. The Rangers have deeper problems then Avery can fix, but by signing him they at least look like they’re trying.

While he might not bring his baggage to the team – he loves the spotlight, but I’m sure he loves actually playing more – he doesn’t really solve anything and doesn’t make the Rangers any better.

If they can get him, anyway. Unlike Marbury, Avery has yet to clear waivers – and the rumour mill says St. Louis, Minnesota, Edmonton and Pittsburgh are all interested in him too.

The Sonics? That team doesn't live here anymore.

It was a dark night, chilly and damp, when the stranger came back to town. Looking for something to do, he wandered into a nearby Starbucks, hoping to shoot the breeze with somebody.

Sitting down next to a jowled man in a king Felix jersey, he asked: “Hey, how about those Sonics?”

The man looked across, a scowl on his face. “What Sonics? You mean that restaurant?”

“No, no,” replied the stranger. “The Supersonics. The basketball team. You know, green jerseys, 1979 NBA Champions.”

The scowled man shrugged and went back to his mocha frappuccino. So the stranger moved on along the Starbucks, asking about the Sonics.

“They played in the ’96 Finals, against MJ and the Bulls.”

“Was that the first year the Jazz collapsed, or the second?”

“They beat Houston in overtime of game seven in ‘93”

“I thought that was Phoenix.”

“They went to two finals in a row in the 70s!”

“Yeah, the Blazers were a good team back then, eh”

He kept moving, asking, getting nowhere.

“Shawn Kemp?”

“Wasn’t he that bum in Cleveland?”

“Jack Sikma?”

“He was that Milwaukee guy, right? The one who broke McHale’s foot?”

“Ray Allen?”

“Yeah, the Boston guy. Good outside shooter.”

Exasperated, he hailed a cab and went downtown. The arena was down there; maybe he’d find a fan or two hanging around.

“Take me to KeyWest.”

“Key what? You mean the office complexes downtown? They’re closed, but it’s your dollar, chief.”

The stranger got no relief downtown. No arena, no basketball fans, not a sign of the Sonics. Just a bunch of tall buildings, coffee stores and the needled tower.

Finally, he walked over to a homeless man, lying on the curb, covered in a dirty green and gold blanket. Throwing him a nickel, he asked what happened to the Sonics.

“The Sonics? That team doesn’t live here anymore.”

“What happened?”

“Coffee man sold them to a man who traded away the stars, bought out the lease, moved them to Oklahoma. All that’s left now is a box of jerseys and a handful of bitter fans.”

“And nobody did anything?”

The homeless man shrugged. “What was there to do? The commish let it happen. The owners let it happen. All the fans got was to keep a name.”

“That’s horrible!”

“That’s progress, baby.” The homeless man rolled over and covered his head with the blanket.

Dejected, the stranger walked back to the Starbucks.

“How about those Mariners?”

O'Neal for Ford deal works both ways for Raps

Taken at face value, trading away a starting point guard, a good backup centre and a first round draft pick for an oft-injured centre doesn’t seem like a great move.

But trading away TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th pick is a shrewd move by Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Coangelo.

For most of last season, but especially in the playoffs, the Raptors found themselves with two glaring problems. First was the lack of a solid big man, which centre Rasho Nesterovic was not, Andrea Bargnani did not want to be.

Sure, their outside shooting style worked well enough for most of the year: they won 41 games and the sixth seed in the playoffs. They even won against the likes of Orlando, Portland and Boston.

But look a little closer at those box scores. For example, in that 114-112 win over Boston, the Raptors shot an exceptional 15 of 21 from outside, with Carlos Delfino hitting five of five. But their inside game was the opposite – they only grabbed four offensive boards, the same number as Ray Allen.

In the playoffs against Orlando, this was especially obvious. All throughout those five games, Toronto had no answer to the Magic’s Dwight Howard, costing them the series. Their outside shooting was matched by Orlando and they didn’t have the inside game to compensate.

Surely, this is one of the major reasons that the Raptors underachieved. If you go by their Pythagorean record, a tool that goes by points scored and allowed, the Raps should have won 49 games, not 42.

That was major fault number one. Number two was their point guard situation.

When Atlanta Hawks centre Al Horford knocked Ford down on a drive to the basket in December –injuring Ford enough to be removed on a stretcher - it looked like the Raptors season could be hitting an unfortunate and early end, say nothing about the long-term effects the injury would have on Ford.

But a funny thing happened. Backup Jose Calderon, who by that point was splitting time with Ford and coming off the bench, blossomed as a starter. While he may have lucked into a starting role, he seemed to be a linchpin for the Raptors, who began to thrive.

They won three of the next four games, and went on to win eight games in January, including a dramatic double overtime win over Portland. Calderon, he with the deft outside touch and the great passing skills, had improved dramatically from the previous season and was a major part of the Raptors success.

If Ford didn’t come back, the Raptors might have been okay. But he came back, and it threw the Raptors off their game.

When the Raptors traded for Ford, he was supposed to be the starting PG and he was paid appropriately: to the tune of $8 million, says basketball-reference.com. But with the great play of Calderon, would it be fair to immediately stick Ford back in the starting position?

But that’s what the Raptors did. Not starting put Ford in a funk, and it was the last thing the Raptors needed late in the season, when they were battling for a playoff spot.

Both Ford and Calderon was a logjam, and an especially bad one to have. Ford had become temperamental, had a reputation for taking bad shots and was an injury risk. Calderon, who was again coming off the bench, but looked to be the better point guard, was a free agent after the season.

Both wanted to start, and the one who didn’t was likely gone. What to do?

A couple days before the draft, trade rumours began to fly. One was TJ to the Suns for Boris Diaw, a trade that wouldn’t have fixed much. Where would Diaw, a combo forward-guard, fit in the rotation? And what of his reputation for vanishing in big games?

Another was TJ going to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford. This trade would’ve helped the Knicks, who need a point guard, but not the Raptors, who don’t need another swingman.

But the rumour that became fact was Ford, Nesterovic, a player to be named later and the Raptors first round pick to the Indiana Pacers, who would send Jermaine O’Neal in return.

In the past three seasons, O’Neal’s stock had fallen considerably. While he had played in six all-star games and had made three All-NBA teams from 2001-02 to 2003-04, he had now played a full season since 2003-04. Plus, he still had the stigma from the Brawl at the Palace, which helped foster a reputation as a hothead.

In 2007-08, his numbers looked like this: 1206 minutes played (his lowest since becoming a starter), 225 FG (same), 283 rebounds (the same, and close to his lowest ever) and 87 blocks (he once had 228 blocks in a season).

So, what was Colangelo thinking? Surely, he could get better value for TJ, couldn’t he?

But, the more one thinks about this deal, the more sense it makes – since it works both ways.

First off, if O’Neal stays healthy, he dramatically improves the Raptors frontcourt. Instead of playing centre, Bosh can move to forward and Bargnani can come off the bench. Suddenly, the Raptors starting five will likely be this: Chris Bosh, O’Neal, Calderon, Delfino and Anthony Parker.

That means they have an inside game that matches against Orlando – by putting O’Neal in the low post against Howard. And they still have a good outside game with Delfino, and Calderon.

That means their bench improves too: Jamario Moon becomes their sixth man, and the pressure of Bargnani is turned down considerably. Plus, it solves their PG logjam, too.

But, like I said before, it works the other way too: if O’Neal isn’t healthy.

Why’s that? His salary, which maxes out at $23 million in two seasons, expires in 2009-10.

That’s the year that more then a few marquee players – such as LeBron James – become free agents. And while it doesn’t give the Raptors a lot of wiggle room now, it gives them the space to make a big splash in a couple seasons.

Remember, it was big, hefty deals that helped a lot of teams make big splashes this season with trades. Like Keith Van Horn’s expiring contract, which helped to bring Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks.

So if O’Neal’s a bust and the Raptors are in good shape, his expiring deal could be worth a lot to a rebuilding team, and bring in some young talent. Or they could hang on him and sign a major talent or two.

Simply put, this trade works both ways. It’s a slick move by Colangelo, and it’s one the Raptors will be glad to have made, no matter what happens.

Wait Till Next Year - a review

In a time long since passed, it was the rallying cry for the tortured New York sports fan: Wait till next year. But it’s also the title of one of the best sports books in recent memory.

Written by screenwriter William Goldman and sportswriter Mike Lupica, Wait Till Next Year is a look at the teams of New York – the Giants, the Jets, the Yankees, the Mets, the Knicks, the Nets – in 1987.

It was a year full of promise, but one where nothing much happened. Teams faltered, underperformed and fell apart down the stretch. Dwight Gooden went into rehab, the NFL went on strike and the Nets won 19 games.

But that’s not the point of this book.

Broken into four parts, one for each sport, and then further divided between Lupica’s behind closed doors columns and Goldman’s essays on being a fan, Wait Till Next Year is a great look at sports as a whole.

Lupica’s tight, controlled prose takes you behind the doors of the clubhouse and dressing rooms, to where Kieth Hernandez smokes a butt while trying to keep the clubhouse in check, to the picket lines around Giants Stadium and to the office of Lou Piniella, where he tries to keep his team afloat amid George Steinbrenner's constant micromanaging.

His pieces, which could work on their own, are counterbalanced by Goldman’s “A fan’s notes”. In these, Goldman writes about avoiding a game, as to not disturb it’s outcome, about taping a Knicks/Celtics game and the sloppiness of scab football.

Together, by swapping essays, the book never goes too far to one side. Even while dealing with serious topics, it never stays too serious for too long; conversely, it never stays too loose, either.

It’s not without it’s faults, though. Lupica’s a baseball man through and through, and goes light on the football and basketball chapters. And neither of them care much for hockey, as the Rangers and Islanders don’t make an appearance in the book. And the book did come out nearly 20 years ago – more then a few scenes show their age.

But those are pretty minor gripes. Wait Till Next Year is an enjoyable look at sports in general, not just those in New York, but from a vantage point, as well as one of the best sports books in the past 25 years.

Lakers' choke in the big smoke

Call it the choke in the big smoke.

The Lakers had a 24-point lead, a home floor, and the MVP of the league on their team last night. And yet, they still fell apart, losing 97-91.

Tailor-made for ESPN Classic. Sometimes you just get that feeling, that you’re watching something that you’ll see there in a few years: the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, the 2005 Rose Bowl, game five of the 2006 NHL Finals.

But last night, they might as well have simulcast that game – it was that good.

Oddly enough, I only caught the comeback, after I tuned in at halftime. In a way, though, that’s for the best – had I watched the first half, I don’t know if I would have watched the second half, the Lakers were that dominant.

Dominant. The big three sure were last night. Ray Allen shook, blew even, the cobwebs off and was great, grabbing rebounds, hitting tough shots and, in one inspired possession, grabbed a board, ran the length of the court and hit a dynamite reverse layup. It was a dagger in the heart of the Lakers – after Allen blew their doors off with that, they were dead in the water.

They shouldn’t have been. Throughout most of the fourth, when the Celtics battled their way back into the game, they couldn’t close the gap - they tied the game four times, but didn’t take the lead until the final five minutes of the game. The Lakers had chances and chances to build on their lead, make it a two possession game at the least. But they couldn’t hit.

(Fun fact: ESPN Classic is re-airing this as an instant classic. What was the last such game that was an Instant Classic? Answer at the end of the column.)

Reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant had an odd night to say the least. He was 6-19 for 17 points. And he had 10 rebounds. But late in the game, he was definitely Michael Jordan-like.

Just not NBA-Champion Jordan. More like the Jordan of the late 1980s, who tried to do too much and never got anywhere with it.

So, where would this choke rank on the all-time choke list? Let’s pull that dossier out and see:

1983 NFC Championship: leading 21-0 in the fourth quarter at home, the Redskins fall apart defensively to the Niners, who tie the game. But in a stunning double-choke, the Niners are called for two bad penalties that keep a Redskin drive alive, and Mark Moseley hits his first field goal of the game (he had been missing them all game) and the Skins pull out a win.

1993 AFC Wild Card: with their Run-and-gun offense, the Houston Oilers lead 35-3 in the third, only to choke it all away. The Bills, in a role-reversal, score 28 in the third and a touchdown in the fourth to knot the game at 38. They would win on a Christie kick in overtime to seal the comeback.

Game three, 1982 Smythe Finals: The Edmonton Oilers, led by hall of famers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey lead the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 after 40 minutes. But the Kings battled back, scoring five unanswered goals, the last of which with only 5 seconds left. The Oilers had suddenly lost their scoring touch and missed several good chances. They would lose in overtime, on a Daryl Evans goal, and the series in five games.

1990 Smythe Semi-finals. After winning game four in double overtime, the Winnipeg Jets take a 3-1 series lead over the Oilers. But the Edmonton would win the next two games, each by a goal, and force game seven, where they won 4-1. The Oilers would go on to win the Stanley Cup, while the Jets were never a force again in the playoffs.

2002 Eastern Conference Finals, game three: Leading by 21 in the fourth quarter, the New Jersey Nets fall apart late (Jason Kidd missed four three-pointers late), while the Boston Celtics – led by Paul Pierce, who would score 19 in the fourth – come back to win, 94-90. However, the Nets would win the series in six games.

1994 Western Semi-Finals, game two: The Houston Rockets led by 20 in the fourth, but the Phoenix Suns roared back. Led by Charles Barkley (34 points, 15 boards, 6 assists) and Kevin Johnson (27 points, 6 boards, 6 assists), they forced overtime and won, 124-117, giving them a 2-0 series lead. At the time, it was the largest comeback in NBA playoffs history. However, the Rockets made NBA history too: they became only the second team to win a series after losing the first two games at home.

So where does it rank? Above the two hockey ones, for sure, as well as the Suns comeback, since it’s the finals. Ahead of the Celtics comeback in ’02, since it was on the road. Ahead of the Niners comeback in 83, since the Niners lost (albeit on two bad calls).

And if they win the series, it’s ahead of the Bills comeback, since they got stomped in the Superbowl that year.

So, what was the last instant classic? Not Lebron’s two-OT masterpiece against the Pistons. And it’s not game five of the ’05 Finals, either.

It was that two-OT duel between Dallas and Phoenix – or should I say between Dirk and Nash – from late last season. Although, game five was also an instant classic, too.

Pistons tough out a win in Boston

Suddenly, it didn’t seem quite at all like it supposed to.

Under the cozy confines of the TD Banknorth Garden – the new Boston Garden – the Boston Celtics suddenly looked very much human on their home court.

They had not lost there all playoffs: four wins against Atlanta, four more against Cleveland and a win in the opening game of this series against the Pistons. They had not lost at home since March 24, nearly two months prior.

They had not allowed their opponents to score 100 plus on their floor all playoffs. They held Cleveland to an average of 81.5 points a game and Atlanta to just 77 points.

But on Thursday night at the Garden, the Pistons came away with a tough 103-97 win over the Celtics, despite the best efforts of Ray Allen.

In one of his best nights in recent memory, Allen found his stroke in the second half and led several Celtics rallies. In one inspired stretch, he hit a long three, then a 14-foot jumper – cutting the Pistons lead to two.

But as strong as Allen was, however, Rip Hamilton was just as clutch. Driving to the basket, Hamilton hit a one-handed floater as the shot clock expired, giving the Pistons a two-possession lead late in the fourth. Not a play that’s likely to be seen many highlight tapes, but it was a dagger to the Celtics defence, which couldn’t make stops when they had to.

But Allen was far from done. He hit a three with 10 seconds to play, cutting the lead to three. He would finish the night with 22 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter, a huge increase from his nine points in game one.

It was far from just him, however. Both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce would finish with more then 20 points. Rajon Rongo had a great – if quiet – night, scoring 10 with nine boards and eight assists.

But the Pistons managed to spread the ball around well – six players had 10 or more points. Rookie Rodney Stuckey had 13 points in just 16 minutes of play. Rasheed Wallace had 13 points and 10 boards. Hamilton led the team with 25 points.

It was their ball movement that helped to do in the Celtics. Their defence was hard-pressed at times to keep up the Pistons ball movement – and the Pistons took this for all they could.

After being down by two at the end of the first, the Pistons exploded in a 32 point second quarter and led by seven at the half.

In the third quarter, the Celtics rallied back and led by as many as four before the Pistons again went on a run and finished the quarter leading by nine.

Despite a late rally in the fourth, the Celtics couldn’t close the gap and found themselves on the losing side of the box score.

So now, for the first time, the Celtics are behind the eight ball. They cannot just rely on their home court advantage to win a series, like they did against Atlanta and Cleveland.

Instead, the Pistons won a hard-fought game on the road, and signaled this is not going to be an easy win for the Celtics.

And as the series shifts to the Palace, the advantage now lies with Detroit.

LeBron goes cold, KG gets hot and the Celts win game one

The game could be summarized in the final minute of the fourth quarter, if one was so inclined. Garnett, carrying the team on his back. Both sides trading blows, never taking a commanding lead until the final seconds.

And LeBron James going cold, missing his final four shots, as the Cleveland Cavaliers losing to the Boston Celtics 76-72.

In an arena that was hazy from the opening fireworks, it seemed as if some the starters were lost in the fog. Celtics guard Ray Allen finished the night without a single point, despite playing 37 minutes. Forward Paul Pierce only had four, shooting a dismal 2-14 from the field.

But the big surprise was LeBron, who was missing shots from all over. He only hit two of 18, both of them in the paint, and finished with 12 points. Instead, the onus fell to Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Wally Szczerbiak, both of whom played great.

Playing the low post, Ilgauskas grabbed 12 rebounds and helped keep the game with team-high 22 points. Wally World, scored 13, hitting some late shots that kept the Cavs in it.

But it was Kevin Garnett who dominated this game. When the other starters couldn’t get anything going, KG exploded out of the gate, hitting his first four of five shots. Coupled with another great night from Rajon Rondo, the Celtics were able to take a 10 point lead after the first quarter.

But Cleveland clawed it’s way back into the game with a 22-point second quarter, thanks to a 13-3 run, but couldn’t quite take the lead. Instead, Boston went into halftime leading by 41-37.

The third quarter was all Cleveland. Ilgauskas had eight points, all in the first five minutes of the half, as the Cavs took the lead. But the Celts were far from done. Down by six with midway through the third, they went on an 8-1 run and tied the game to end the quarter.

The fourth opened with both teams trading both shots and the lead for the first four minutes, but Boston eventually pulled to a four-point lead on a 25-foot three by Sam Cassell. Neither team scored a basket for nearly two minutes until Cassell drained another shot, this time from 22 feet out.

Cleveland answered with a quick two baskets, a Szczerbiak three and a LeBron layup – his only basket of the second half –but still couldn’t close the gap.

The Cavs would finally take the lead again late – with 90 seconds to play – on an Ilgauskas jumper, but KG and Cassell closed the door, giving the Celts a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

All in all, Garnett finished with 28 points and eight rebounds; Rondo with 15 points, six assists and 5 rebounds; Cassell with 13 points, 10 of them in the final quarter. Remember, Ray Allen and Pierce only had four points combined.

But it wasn’t just them. It was a sloppy game all around, with neither team hitting 50 per cent of their shots. Cleveland, in fact, hit just under 31 per cent of theirs. The Celtics turned the ball over 19 times, three more then the Cavs did. And neither team could hand onto a lead.

But, if anything, this game will be remembered for LeBron’s worst shooting night in recent memory and perhaps in his career.

To put all the blame for this loss on LeBron would be far from fair, but his poor shooting night was a major factor in the Cavs loss. Up until this game, he had scored at least 30 points in nine of his last ten games against the Celtics – and in that lone exception, he scored 26.

Although he only hit two baskets, he managed to contribute in other ways. He led the team in assists with nine, had nine boards in the loss and was 80% from the charity stripe.

But, just in the MVP voting, LeBron was outdone by Garnett.

Manu carries the load as Spurs hang on

It was the most quiet of the big three, the man who had been so unassuming all game, that came through in the clutch.

All game, he looked lost, getting in foul trouble and barely registered on the score sheet at the half. But by games end, the Spurs made sure it was in his hands, and he came through.

If anything, Manu Ginobili earned his sixth man award tonight in San Antonio in a series-clinching 92-87 win over the Phoenix Suns.

At halftime, he had scored just two points and three fouls in 11 minutes of play. By games end, he would have only eight, four of those from the charity stripe.

But it was a big eight.

After Boris Diaw cut the Spurs lead to one, Ginobili came up strong. First, after a risky inbounds pass up the middle, he was fouled going for a lay up and hit one of two, giving the Spurs a two-point lead.

Phoenix called a twenty second timeout, advancing the ball to half court – but turned it over on the inbounds pass. Ginobili was fouled and went to the line with the chance to ice it.

He did, hitting both and giving the Spurs a commanding lead of four points and that was the ball game.

But it was far from just him tonight – he got a ton of help from a Phoenix team that collapsed down the stretch and a stellar night from both Tony Parker and Tim Duncan.

The Suns turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter and looked panicky down the stretch, forcing shots against a San Antonio defence that kept them outside.

And their big acquisition – Shaquille O’Neal – was a problem all game for the Suns, too. As early as the second quarter, San Antonio went into hack mode, fouling him away from the ball and sending him to the line, where he was far from effective.

He would miss 11 free throws in the game, more then the difference in the outcome. In the second quarter, he missed nine free throws, while San Antonio took a 54-45 lead at the half.

“We wanted to make Shaq work,” said Kurt Thomas at the half.

However, when Shaq sat for most of the third, Phoenix roared back, going on a 13-4 run that gave then a lead of five late in the third.

But this was a strategy that almost backfired for the Spurs. Going into the fourth quarter, they had three players with four fouls, and another two with three. And when Shaq entered the game again in the fourth, their strategy was much less effective, as he started hitting more of his free throws. Soon, he showed glimpses of his old self, driving to the basket over Duncan and getting the foul.

However, a glimpse was all the Suns would get.

As effective as Ginobili was late, it was Tony Parker, the point guard who had been taking flak all season, who exploded for the Spurs. In the first half, he had 20 points, five assists and was a perfect 8/8 from the line.

He finished with 31 points and eight assists and a number of clutch shots, including two late daggers that kept San Antonio in front late.

“We just treated it like a game seven,” he said after the game.

Indeed they did, with a defence that kept Phoenix away from the basket and ran down the clock. On the offensive boards, they were stellar too: three-time MVP Tim Duncan was a monster throughout, finishing with 29 points and17 rebounds in 41 minutes of play.

On the other side, two-time MVP Steve Nash was ineffective at best. He shot a dismal four of 16 and didn’t register an assist until late in the third quarter. He finished with just 11 points, three assists and turnovers, hardly his kind of stat line.

Even before this game, but especially as it finished, rumours were flying about the Suns. Is this the last game for head coach Mike D’Antoni? Are the missed free throws and riding the bench the last memory we will have of the force formerly known as the Diesel? And what of Nash? He looked ineffective all game and was completely outplayed by Parker.

Perhaps the only bright spot for the Suns here was the play of Boris Diaw. He finished with 22, eight rebounds and eight assists. Where Nash faltered, Diaw shined. He was the driving force that kept the Suns in the game early on.

On a night where two series ended – Dallas also fell, to New Orleans – it seemed a sober reminder of last year. The Suns, collapsing down the stretch. San Antonio, getting baskets when it counted. And a semi-final matchup that everybody’s set for: San Antonio vs New Orleans.

“It’s going to be a great series,” said Parker. “I can’t wait.”

Neither can anybody else.

Suns vs Spurs an OT Classic

It was a game that had everything: a comeback, a duel, buzzer-beaters and huge shots. It was a game you could write a thesis on.

And it was only the first game of the series.

For four quarters and two heart-stopping overtimes, the Suns and the Spurs faced each other once again, in what is maybe the most heated – and most hotly anticipated – series in recent memory. It didn’t disappoint.

Leading by as many as 19 in the first half, and by as many as nine in the fourth, the Suns struggled late, under the oppressive settings of San Antonio’s AT&T Center.

But this wasn’t another Phoenix playoff collapse. They battled in OT and it came down to San Antonio taking the final shot, twice. Problem was, they hit it twice.

No, this was a duel. Steve Nash and Tim Duncan, battling again. Duncan would finish with 40, 15 rebounds and five assists. Nash finished with 25 and 13 assists. But the numbers almost don’t matter; it’s their shots that will be remembered.

Duncan, nails his first and only three of the game, tying it at the end of the first OT.

Nash, hitting a three while falling sideways, ties the game with 15 to play in the second OT.

It’s a cliché to say it’s a shame one team had to lose, that they both played so well nobody deserved to lose. And it’s surely a cliché that could be applied here.

But it’s another that fits a lot better: the team that wanted it more, won. It. The win.

Item: Late in the second OT, there was a struggle under the phoenix basket. One missed layup, then another. Bodies flying all over the place. Duncan reaches up and stuffs it in on the Spurs third chance.

Item: With 15 to play in the second overtime, San Antonio rolls the dice, taking the ball upcourt and went for the win. No timeout, no set plays. No waiting it out, going for a third OT. End it now.

Manu Ginobili hits a layup with 1.8 to play. Nash takes a half-court shot that sails wide as the final buzzer sounds.

It’s scenarios like that, where they had to grind it out, that showed how determined, how dedicated, how good San Antonio is. They played hard, they didn’t let up and they kept the pressure going, attacking the basket and Shaquille O’Neal, who with five fouls, often shied away from drawing contact under his own basket.

Yet it was O’Neal who tied the game in the second overtime, stuffing a rebound to make it 112 all.

About halfway through the game, ESPN flashed a little statistic. Over 80 per cent of the teams that win game one win the series.

But here’s something else. Last year, San Antonio won game one, 111-106, and won the series in six. In 2005, they won game one 121-114, and the series in five.

If this series goes to form, it should go to seven.

And if it goes that far, all bets are off. Especially if it’s as tense as game one.

Sleepwalking in Seattle

Jet lag is a terrible thing. It confuses the mind and screws up the body. You get tired when you shouldn’t and find yourself awake at odd hours of the night. There’s no real way to combat it, you just have to let your body adjust and tough it out.

Hopefully, that’s what the Raptors can do on this road trip.

They opened this four-game swing to the west coast with a close win over the LA Clippers. Then came two straight losses to Portland and Seattle, the two teams with lottery picks last year.

In each of those two games the Raptors were leading fairly late in the game, and although they kept it close, they tired down the stretch and lost.

Take the Seattle game, for instance. The Raps for most of the game, until halfway thorugh the third quarter took the lead on a 6 point run. By the end of the third, they had scored 36 points and led by nine.

Once again, the Raptors made a run, scoring 15 and holding the Sonics to just two points. And a late three by Carlos Delfino would have made it a two-point game with 31 seconds left.

But he had stepped out of bounds, and the shot was reversed.

It was typical of this Raptors road trip, which has seen two leads trickle away late in the game, and another they barely held onto. And while it’d be easy to blame this on such maladies as jet lag, it’s perhaps a sign of a Raptors problem: depth.

The Raptors are missing two key players from last season’s division championship: Jorge Garbojosa, who is out for the season, and TJ Ford, whose career is rumoured to be over. And now that players such as Andrea Barngani and Chris Bosh aren’t playing well, there’s nobody on the bench who can step in and replace them.

This means that players like Kris Humphries, Delfino and Kopono are coming off the bench for major minutes and Joey Graham and Juan Dixon are suiting up.

However, give the Raps some credit. In his replacement of Ford, Jose Calderon has been great, perhaps even better then Ford. Jamario Moon has come out of seemingly nowhere to become a core part of the Raptors, showing skill at both ends of the court.

But that might not be enough to make the playoffs this year. Teams like Boston and Orlando are much, much better then last season. In the absence of Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards are staying a .500 team and can sneak up on somebody when he comes back. Both Detroit and Cleveland are obviously playing well.

While they are not likely to beat Boston, Toronto needs to start beating teams like Seattle, Washington and Milwaukee if they want to see the postseason again.

Of course, beating New Orleans, San Antonio or Houston would be nice, too.

Call it a late Christmas present.

Or an early taste of late April.

Strictly Classified

Maybe it’s just me - and I’m sure it is - but I’ve always been a fan of the classified section of the newspaper. People selling items, all summarily described, to complete strangers. Great buys and items you may not see anywhere else. And a lot of junk.

Anyway, I recently clipped a few items that I felt needed to be shared - maybe somebody out there can make an offer, or two.

WANTED: “Are you an Argo-nut who can throw the ball? We’re looking for you! Must bring own helmet, shoulder pads - balls and recivers will be supplied. No Vicks. Call M. Clemens, KL5-0901”

FOR SALE: “Give this Priest a Home. One Running back, hardly used since 2005, some minor upper damage, 1500 yard potential. Must pay shipping, health insurance. Call H. Edwards, KC9-2121”

FOR SALE: “Duck seeks new pond. Goaltender, like new, great potential. Doesn’t speak English, must supply own translator/mask. MUST SELL. B. Berke, AN9-0011”

WANTED: “Gamble on us! Does your TV station have a hole to fill? Is poker too boring for your viewers? Do you remember a guy named Gretzky? Take a chance on us ! Call us today! G. Bettman, NH3-09123”

PERSONAL: “Are you down tonight? Do you need a clutch tray, a buzzer-beating jumpshot? Or is Spike Lee not excited enough anymore? Give me a call - I’ll be waiting! R. Miller - IN3-9943”

FOR SALE: “One dog ‘mating’ stand. Barely used. Serious inquires only. M. Vick, LS7-0909

Pistol - A review

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There’s a line in Mark Kriegel’s book “Pistol” that does a good job of summarizing Pete Maravich’s life, and the book, quite nicely - “I don’t want to play 10 years in the NBA and die of a heart attack at 40.”

Instead, he died of a heart defect at 40, after playing in the NBA for almost 10 years.

“Pistol” is not so much a biography as it is a study on passion and obsession and how the two can be confused. At it’s core it’s about how much a father, in this case Press Maravich, can drive his son into greatness and tragedy. Into a legend, although one marred by tragedy.

To me, the way Pete Maravich was described reminded me of Pete Rose. Rose took a one-time criticism from his father on not running out a groundball into a career known as Charlie Hustle, much in the same way that Press’ love for basketball led to the devotion that Pete poured into it, devoting his life to the game. However, Rose got off lightly compared to Maravich, who almost all of his life playing the game, almost never getting the respect he deserved, at least not until his career had finished.

“Pistol” covers not just the life of Pete, but also that of Press. The book opens with a young Press, stuck with no future in a Pennsylvania steel town (where the sky was colored a flaming orange by the factories, notes Kriegel) discovers a way out - basketball, a game which he takes to almost immediately. The book was surely not off the mark when it says that Press mistook the game for salvation - it would dominate the rest of his life.

From there the book covers Press’ exploits in the early days of professional basketball and the first few years of what to become his pastime, coaching. By the time that Pete was a small child, Press was coaching his just as much (and perhaps more) then he was with his team, the NC State Wolfpack.

Here, the book goes into great detail, from newspaper clippings to interviews with people who were around, into this period of Pete’s life, when he was almost forced into basketball, practicing for hours a day, right up to during his teenage years. It was here, on the basketball court, that Pete found what he was craving all along - affection, from the fans who loved seeing his flashy moves and passes.

The book does a great job of covering both the highs (His 68 point game against the Knicks, his record setting performances at LSU) and the lows (his knee injury, LSU’s collapse in the 1970 NIT) of his career, as well as the interesting dynamic of Press and Pete’s relationship, and how it changed over the years.

It goes on, later, describing the aftermath of his NBA career - his depression, his spiritual rebirth as a born-again Christian, and eventually, his early death (on a basketball court, fittingly).

Overall, “Pistol” is an interesting book - it paints a picture of Pete as a tragic and often depressed superstar, and does a very good job of it. It’s meticulously researched (there’s even a large list of footnotes and references included) and very well written, although it does compare Pete to another flawed legend, Joe Namath (who, by the way, was the subject of another book written by Mark Kriegel) on a regular basis.

It’s definitely worth a read.