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It boggles my mind that Mavericks Center Erick Dampier is not being fined by the NBA for his comments made postgame about Spurs Point Guard Tony Parker.
Dampier told the Dallas Morning News, “Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back. The first foul has to tell him he’s in for a long night. My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back. I guarantee it.”
Hmm, that sounds like a Dampier is admitting that he is going to commit a flagrant two foul early in the next game. Maybe the NBA should slap him with a nice fine so he learns to shut is mouth and not have dirty intentions on the court.
Players get fined in sports for so much less in this day and age and when a player is talking about maliciously harming someone before it happens, then the league needs to take a stand to prevent further things like this from being said.
Maybe Dampier and the rest of his team should actually learn how to play defense and not let Parker penetrate every time the ball is in his hands.
What is really funny is that Dampier of all people made this comment. He is averaging 9.5 ppg and 7.5 rebounds in the postseason and is basically a non factor for the Mavericks. Maybe if a respectable Maverick like Jason Kidd or Dirk Nowitzki made these comments then it would have some more credibility, but wait, they are respectable players and would never say anything so stupid.
Dampier responded to all the media hype surrounding his statement by saying, “I probably shouldn’t have said it like that. Maybe the way it came out, it sounded bad. I’m just going to go out there and play the way I’ve been playing.”
Well that’s a nice little retraction from what you said earlier Erick. But have fun going out and “play the way you’ve been playing” because if you do that then you’ll only endure another 105-85 point spanking like in game two.
-Sam Gerb
Sam can be reached at sgerb@ut.edu
Tuesday Feb. 3 marked a day for the record books as LeBron James broke Kobe Bryant’s record to become the fastest player to reach 12,000 points. It took Bryant 25 years and 220 days to eclipse the magical number. James took down the milestone in just 24 years and 35 days.
James put up a total of 33 points in the 101-83 routing of the Raptors. The frightening thing to think about is James, only being 24 years old, is still getting better. He is not even at his full potential. With the huge win the Cavs remain undefeated on their home hardwood.
-Kyle Bennett
Kyle Bennett can be contacted at minaret.overtime@gmail.com
One of the many strange nuances of sports is that of the streak, which can be defined in the sports world as a long period of consistency for a team or an individual in a particular category.
Jose Calderon of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors finally snapped a streak of 87 free throws that dated back to last season this past Friday night, and although it is only the second-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, draining 87 consecutive free throws is nothing to sneeze at (I know for a fact that I could never make 87 shots in a row). To be that consistent for that long is highly impressive, seeing as a plethora of NBA players are unable to down 87 consecutive dunks, let alone free throws.
A streak such as this one also serves as a reminder of other incredible sports streaks, such as Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941, Jerry Rice’s 274 consecutive games with at least one reception, Wayne Gretzky’s twelve straight seasons with 40 or more goals (including four straight with 60 or more), and perhaps the best-known streak in sports history, Cal Ripken, Jr.’s, 2,632 consecutive games played. Most, if not all, of these records will likely never be surpassed, some never even approached.
It can be predicted that a baseball player is going to hit 50 home runs next season or that an NFL quarterback is going to throw 40 touchdowns, but an NBA player making 87 free throws in succession is entirely unpredictable. The most interesting aspect of a streak as opposed to other sports feats and records is how it comes on slowly and unexpectedly. After a while the media and fans start to catch on to such an anomaly and watch with great anticipation as the streak builds, and there is always a hint of disappointment (followed by appreciation) when it finally reaches its inevitable terminus. It elicits the emotion of having seen something special, knowing that there is a possibility that the continuous sequence in question will never be eclipsed.
That, fellow sports fans, is the aura of the streak.
-Ryan Burkett
Ryan can be contacted at Rapidryan940@aol.com
Smoking weed is the number one priority for an NBA player in his rookie season. Well I guess that is what Kansas players Marion Chalmers and Darrel Arthur thought. Both players were just sent home from the NBA’s rookie transition program. Both players were fined $20,000 dollars and could possibly start he season in the stands serving suspensions.
First off, both players are complete morons for smoking weed, not to mention that they are now professional athletes and role models to younger players across the globe. Secondly, the NBA should take a stronger stand against drug use, similar to the policies of MLB baseball. In the MLB, a first time positive test for steroids is an automatic 50-game suspension. That served suspension is about a third of the games played during a standard baseball season.
The NBA should take this stern stance and suspend first time drug offenders in the NBA 25 games, which is a little less than third of the games in a standard basketball season. A second offense should be 50 games and a third offense should be a lifetime ban. Drugs have no place in the great game of basketball and the NBA should let the fans around the world know that they take that stance.
On top of suspensions, the fines should be higher. To NBA players nowadays, $20,000 dollars is simply pocket change. Make a statement and fine six figures, and then see if they light another one up.
- Sam Gerb
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