I love watching most sports and have enjoyed the Winter Olympics. I wonder if I am the only one disturbed however by how important chance seems to be in many winter events. I am particularly thinking about short track skating and snowboard cross. The Olympics should be about being the best,not the luckiest.
Parents
Former Member
Aquageek,
OK, you got me on the Yankees. I would point out two things. Short of swimming, baseball is the sport with the least teamwork between the players (yeah, yeah, battery-mates, double-play combinations, hit & run, sacrifice bunting, etc. etc. It still can't hold a candle to the intricate teamwork of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, etc. etc.) and that is best suited for throwing together a pack of all-stars. Also, the Yankees may sign away all the most highly regarded players, but then they have the same spring training and 162 game season as everyone else does to play as a team. When you put talent and teamwork together, well you get the Yankees. But please note that even the Yankees with an unlimited payroll still don't always guess right as to who the best players will be, and that leaves a door open for a cohesive team like the White Sox or the Red Sox recently.
Regarding the NBA, don't get me wrong. I have great respect for Iverson's skills and I think he is a future Hall of Famer. Also, the Pistons are my favorite team, to the extent I follow the dull as dirt NBA. However, I don't see any future HoFers on the current Piston team. Rasheed Wallace? The malcontent under-achiever the Trailbrazers couldn't unload fast enough? He has played great in the Piston's system, but that is my point exactly. It's the system, not marquee, future HoF guys that win championships. The Wallaces, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billips are terrific players, but no one is going to confuse them with Iverson, Karl Malone, John Stockton or Charles Barkley in their prime, and BTW, how many rings to those four distinguished players have?
So, back to my main point. You can't evaluate team sports with a rotissery league mindset. "Dream Teams" are more illusion than reality. Give me a coach with a vision, and solid players that understand their rolls, and I'll embarass your all-stars more often than you would expect.
There, this has been a fun, bar-stooling conversation. A pleasure chit-chatting with you.
Matt
Aquageek,
OK, you got me on the Yankees. I would point out two things. Short of swimming, baseball is the sport with the least teamwork between the players (yeah, yeah, battery-mates, double-play combinations, hit & run, sacrifice bunting, etc. etc. It still can't hold a candle to the intricate teamwork of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, etc. etc.) and that is best suited for throwing together a pack of all-stars. Also, the Yankees may sign away all the most highly regarded players, but then they have the same spring training and 162 game season as everyone else does to play as a team. When you put talent and teamwork together, well you get the Yankees. But please note that even the Yankees with an unlimited payroll still don't always guess right as to who the best players will be, and that leaves a door open for a cohesive team like the White Sox or the Red Sox recently.
Regarding the NBA, don't get me wrong. I have great respect for Iverson's skills and I think he is a future Hall of Famer. Also, the Pistons are my favorite team, to the extent I follow the dull as dirt NBA. However, I don't see any future HoFers on the current Piston team. Rasheed Wallace? The malcontent under-achiever the Trailbrazers couldn't unload fast enough? He has played great in the Piston's system, but that is my point exactly. It's the system, not marquee, future HoF guys that win championships. The Wallaces, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billips are terrific players, but no one is going to confuse them with Iverson, Karl Malone, John Stockton or Charles Barkley in their prime, and BTW, how many rings to those four distinguished players have?
So, back to my main point. You can't evaluate team sports with a rotissery league mindset. "Dream Teams" are more illusion than reality. Give me a coach with a vision, and solid players that understand their rolls, and I'll embarass your all-stars more often than you would expect.
There, this has been a fun, bar-stooling conversation. A pleasure chit-chatting with you.
Matt
