Will the NBA need a lockout of its own to end the era of boring basketball, or will the New Orleans Hornets provide the antidote?
The Hornets are currently engaged in a tough series with the New Jersey Devils of the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs.
Much like the Devils, the Spurs have found a way to turn an exciting game into a cure for insomnia during their recent run of three championships in five years.
I respect the Spurs for their commitment to defence, their willingness to sacrifice personal statistics for wins and their ability to adapt their game in order to defeat a variety of opponents. But none of that translates into aesthetically pleasing basketball.
I would rather watch reruns of Roseanne than the average Spurs game. And the bigger problem is that other organizations watch what kind of basketball wins titles in San Antonio, and they mould their teams in a similar fashion.
Dr. James Naismith, if you’re listening up there with the rest of the basketball gods, please give the Hornets the strength necessary to reclaim the game that has fallen under the tyrannous rule of Greg Popovich and his charges in Texas.
>> Sergio Garcia’s win at The Player’s Championship this past weekend was the best thing that could have happened for the PGA in the absence of Tiger Woods.
“How’s Tiger doing?” is still the first question asked when the subject of a tournament arises, and the average fan puts a mental asterisk beside the winner’s name when Woods is not in the field.
With all due respect to Paul Goydos, who lost to Garcia in a playoff, the tour is in desperate need of a few more household names at the top of the leaderboard each week so that each tourney isn’t so dependant on Tiger.
If players like Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els are raising trophies on a consistent basis, the tournaments and the fields within them gain the credibility they appear to lack without the world’s number one teeing it up. The story of an unheralded, unlikely winner is only compelling when it doesn’t seem to be happening every single week.
>> Want to weigh in? Email me at scott.rintoul@metronews.ca.
How to make a Scott Rintoul: Mix equal parts college athlete, sports fan and broadcaster. Shake vigorously. Serve chilled Monday-Friday on the TEAM 1040 from 6-9 a.m. or online at thetoulbox.blogspot.com.
