Western Michigan forward Flenard Whitfield has been suspended one game for his part in a fight with Ball State's Matt Kamieniecki. Unsportsmanlike conduct is what they called it.
Both Whitfield and Kamieniecki received technical fouls. Whitfield earned the suspension for violating a Mid American Conference rule that prohibits a player from striking or physical abuse of a player, coach, or referee.
Check out the video to see if the punishment fits the crime.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Dick Vitale, Stan Van Gundy Rip The Pistons
Dick Vitale and Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy had their say about practicegate and the players involved. Phil Jackson has already thrown his two cents so why not pile on.
Vitale appeared on Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN radio and blasted the players for what they did.
“What happened in Detroit was absolutely absurd," Vitale said. "When those players did what they did in that mutiny, unbelievable. It is absolutely sad and a black eye and absolutely hurts the image of the NBA big time. When guys like, for example, (Austin) Daye and (Chris) Wilcox and (Rodney) Stuckey, they all apologize for being late because they overslept, they couldn't come to the shootaround, give me a break! You're making hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, you're making millions playing a kids' game, and you're going to oversleep! And then there's the scenario where (Tayshaun) Prince and (Tracy) McGrady, they were sick, they couldn't go to the shootaround. Are you serious? That's absolutely a tragedy. And you know what? It breaks my heart. For someone who, for over 50 years, loves the game, loves people, loves being with people, when you hear that, man, I'd rather go watch some sixth-, seventh-graders play in some Little League game than spend thousands of dollars to watch a bunch of guys who don't give a damn.”
Sounds like vintage Vitale to me, but I do have to agree with what he's saying. Van Gundy appeared on the Dan LeBatard Show to pile on the Pistons. I'm suprised LeBatard didn't chime in considering he gets in any dig about anything Detroit.
Van Gundy said, "If there are players who truly were healthy and 'boycotted' practice — I don't care what the problem they have with the head coach is — why would you want those guys on your team in any situation? All of us have problems with our bosses at times, but you don't choose to just not show up for work. That's about as childish and unprofessional as you can get. And clearly, that illuminates some of the Pistons' problems right there. When you've got that many guys with that little toughness and professionalism on your team, it wouldn't matter who is coaching them — you're not going to be very successful. They've obviously got the wrong guys in that locker room. That's about the weakest group of players I've seen in the NBA — people that would do that. Patrick Ewing and I were talking about it and we were saying that if any of those guys become free agents, why in God's name would you want any of them on your basketball team? I know this much about John Kuester. John Kuester is one of the nicest people in our profession, so he didn't get out of line and treat anyone like a sub-human or anything else. They might not have liked his coaching decisions — playing time, how he's handling rotations, whatever. You don't simply not show up for (work) when you're getting paid well and you're supposed to be a professional and a competitor. That's a very weak group of people."
Some harsh words from someone whose franchise player might be leaving town.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Was There A Dunk Contest Conspiracy?
Everyone knew that Griffin would win anyway. With all the hype he's received with his wicked dunks on Sportscenter night after night, he couldn't lose. Why would you want to have Serge Ibaka or JaVale McGee as you champion, when you can have Blake Griffin. Imagine all the marketing possibilities for the NBA and Griffin.
In this official media advisory it listed the “KROQ BLAKE GRIFFIN SHOWCASE” from 1:20 pm to 2:00 pm with the following description: “Five middle school students will showcase their dunking talents in front of 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest winner Blake Griffin.”
http://benmaller.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/blakegriffinnbarelease.png
That was sent an hour before the scheduled start for the dunk contest. The NBA and David Stern always try to throw us off when a conspiracy comes up. Now there is some kind of proof that it does exist. Of course they tried to fix it later.
Somewhere Vince McMahon and David Stern are having a drink with the shooter from the grassy knoll.
Burying The Hatchet
Remember when Antonio Cromartie threatned to smash Matt Hasselbeck's face in. All seems to be well now after running into each other last week and even posed for a picture. Me being the cynic that I am, figures this is some clever posturing for some union solidarity.
Actually they were at the Pro Athletes Outreach NFL conference in Florida last week. Look at them, looking like best buddies. Almost reminds me of Rocky and Apollo Creed. At least they seem to be getting along and all is forgotten.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Chipper Jones Tells Cynical Fans What They Can Do
Some writers, fans, and bloggers have written him off and according to him say that he's only playing for the money. Jones scoffs at that notion and quite frankly it pisses him off. I don't think he plays for the money at this point in his career. I just think he's one of those players that loves the game so much he might be buried in his uniform. He's still a dangerous hitter, efficient in the field, and capable of mentoring the youngsters. Jones alsomprobably wants to play to see can they make another playoff run and possibly get to another World Series. I don't think like some who think he does it for the money.
“If they think I’m doing this for the money, they obviously haven’t seen my bank account,” he said. “I’ve never played this game for money. Nor will I. My mind doesn’t work that way. I play this game because I love my teammates and they wanted me to come back.
“I still feel like I have something to offer, and the cynical fan can really kiss my ass. I really don’t care. There’s a bunch of true fans and the people who actually want to take the time to get to know me know who I am. The guy who sits in his mom’s basement and types on his mom’s computer, I couldn’t really care less about.”
Of course he plays for the money, but that's not his motivation. He plays for the money only because he gets paid for it. I think he'd play for free if you asked him. Just my opinion. Besides, he's made $141 million throughout his career and $127 million in the past 10 years. He'd have to drop money like Bryant McKinnie to burn through all that cash.
Will Hill Is A Family Man
Hill says he has grown up and has been married for a year, with three children. Damn, Will has been putting in work in the bedroom. This was said at the NFL combine in Indianapolis where Hill is trying to improve his draft stock. The only way Hill does that is by telling interviewers he's changed for the better and he's no longer the guy that talks about defecating in an airport bathroom.
"The photo, yeah, I'm at a pool party and people wanted to take pictures with me," Hill said. "It got blown out of proportion to, Will did this Will did that. People don't know I've been married for a year now. All that Twitter stuff was seven, eight months before my marriage. Everybody is going off previous things not knowing the real Will HIll. I'm a family man. I have three daughters. They all look up to me. There's rumors out here that Will Hill is a party guy. If I go out now my wife is with me and my kids. I don't go out to meet people or galavant. I sit back and just relax and enjoy my time."
Of course actions are louder than words and Hill has to do a lot aof convincing to NFL suits who are doing the drafting. He's going out of his way to show them he's not a troublemaker and he'll do whatever it takes to be a success in the NFL. He wants to let whoever is considering him that they'll get a player.
"They are not giving me skepticism, they are accepting me," Hill said. "They know guys make mistakes. You have to live and learn. I'm learning from this experience just being here and guys tell me what to do next time. I deleted my Twitter. I have no Twitter now. As a football player, they get a passionate guy. "This is all I know. I come on the field and I go to work. I cover much ground."
He'll have to do a whole lot more than talk about being a high character guy but getting rid of the Twitter account was a start.
Referee And Brazil Soccer Federation On The Hook For $96 Million
The Brazil soccer federation and a referee are sharing a $96 million dollar fine. That's like being sentenced to 120 years in prison. How do you pay that back. Their great great grandkids will be paying back that money. I understand that they're are a lot of people involved in this, but $96 million. I'm lucky to have $96 dollars.
All this over a match fixing scandal. You know if that happened over here there would've been conspiracy theories everywhere. Remember the Lakers-Kings playoff series? That has nothing on this.
A civil court has ruled that the federation and Edilson Pereira de Carvalho must share the fine for the scandal that forced 11 matches to be replayed after the referee confessed to accepting bribes from gamblers to ensure the outcomes of games. Corinthians eventually won matches that it had lost and clinched the title.-The Associated Press
No word on how this is going to be divided up. No college basketball point shaving scandal has ever been this large.
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