Sports Notes - LAKERS BLUDGEON 76ers For NBA Title

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

The excessive amount of elbows to the face and chest the Sixers Dikembe Mutombo was subject to take from the Lakers 7-1, 330 lb Shaquille O'Neal. Apparently the referees were busy looking at something else

Saturday June 16, 2001

IF IT'S FOULS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE LAKERS HAVE IT

"How many times have we seen that," exclaimed ESPN/STAR sports broadcaster Mark Brown during the International telecast of game three of the NBA finals. "He has taken more shots (blows/hits to the face and body) than in a boxing match."

Brown was referring to the excessive amount of elbows to the face and chest the Sixers Dikembe Mutombo was subject to take from the Lakers 7-1, 330 lb Shaquille O'Neal. Apparently the referees were busy looking at something else as replays time and again showed O'Neal being permitted to foul Mutombo after backing his big butt into Mutombo's body, which should also be a foul.

On one play during game three O'Neal could have been called for four fouls. He first backed into Mutombo, slammed him with a left elbow to the belly, then a right elbow to the same belly, spin around with a right elbow to Mutombo's jaw, then spun back the other way with a left elbow to the jaw while taking a five foot shot. It was too brutal to watch.

"That's not basketball when a player is permitted to just push his big body into a person," exclaimed an Englishman named Peter. Peter lived in the US state off Minnesota for six months and had an insight to the NBA game. "That's bull$#!t," he added.

Peter is about the same height as retired NBA star Charles Barkley. His huge bulk would make Barkley look like a midget. He then entheusticaly demonstrated what he saw in O'Neal's performance by leaning forward and then backing into an imaginary opponent.

"That shouldn't be allowed," he proclaimed. "That's just not basketball. Michael Jordan was a genius the way he played the game. (Allen) Iverson is genius. He's small and look at what he can do. Kobe Bryant is half genius. O'Neal is not genius."

Bull$#!t was the operative word the Sixers could be seen mouthing repeatedly and shaking their heads in disgust as the calls continually went O'Neal's and the Lakers way. It was as if the fight was fixed and regardless what the Sixers did they were not going to be given a fair chance to compete to win the series. They could not generate any momentum. If they had Mike Tyson, Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, George Forman and Ken Norton in their prime there was no way they would be permitted to have a chance to win this the series.

They had a sicken look on their faces while repeatedly muttering bull$#!t during games when O'Neal committed fouls and nothing was called. The Sixers apparently could see that their rose was not going to bloom. It appeared as if O'Neal was given Carte Blanche approval to foul and do whatever he wanted to do.

In a post game press conference Iverson commented how great a player O'Neal is when he is permitted to do what he does. The permitted to do what he does was glossed over by the media as they praised the Lakers.

On one occasion while driving towards the basket O'Neal had two feet planted after the dribble then took a bunny hop (OK kangaroo hop) to the basket before taking a shot. Ughhh…again it was ugly to watch. Traveling wasn't called.

O'Neal has enough talent to be dominate without the assistance of the officials non-calls.

"This could be the very best team ever," AP, reported former Laker star Magic Johnson as saying of the Lakers. "Quite probably the greatest team that ever played."

From that statement you could see that Johnson has either lost his mind or… like the NBA, is trying to put a positive PR (public relations) promotional spin on a team that could never lay claim to that distinction. The best indeed….oh pleaseeeeee! What is in that Laker water?

The NBA's TV ratings have been declining which is an indication that the league is losing respect. Those who are true sports fans and who aren't front-runners can see through the phony hype. The bottom line is the NBA can market the Lakers much easier and better than the Sixers. The Sixers never had a chance.

This Lakers team could not light a candle to the Johnson; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led Lakers of the eighties that won five NBA titles during that decade. Most importantly Johnson has to know that. That was a beautiful team to watch with their precision and execution. They didn't bludgeon teams to death with brute force. They could play.

After O'Neal and Kobe Bryant this Lakers team can't field a player as strong as the eighties Lakers Michael Cooper who was their sixth man.

We won't mention the six-time NBA champion (including two three-peats) Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls as being the greatest. Why bother many of the cheerleading media have already decided this Lakers team is the best.

The Bill Russell led Celtics of the late fifties through the sixties get my vote. The problem is hardly anyone reporting on sports today saw those teams so they really have NO opinion. They just don't know. Believe me….this Lakers team is not the greatest team of all time. It's absurd to think or say so.

NOTES:

Fox Sports is supposed to be a national cable television network in the United States. Its feed is televised internationally by Star Sports. Their sports reporters for the NBA finals were former NBA players Marcus Johnson and Jack Haley. They were both raised in the Los Angeles area and played at UCLA, also in Los Angeles.

Fox is based in Los Angles. Their reporting was not national or International caliber as they continued to revel in cheerleading the Lakers and not reporting the events in an impartial manner as does ESPN….for the most part.

After the Lakers game four victory Haley commented, "We're cracking the champagne after the next game." It was bush league coverage for a national and International telecast. Fox should shape up and become really a national and international by not having cheerleading, homer reporters. Being and international television feed they should assume more responsibility to their international audience.

NBA DRAFT:

China's Yao Ming won't be available for the NBA draft this week. The Chinese government wants Ming to play for the National team and develop physically and mentally. His national team teammate Wang ZhiZhi, now with the Dallas Mavericks was in a similar situation but was drafted prior to being given permission to play in the NBA.

At 7-6 and only 21 years of age and still growing, Ming could be a super star in the league providing that he can deal with the NBA physical play. He has a thin body that can use additional weight. He is a finesse player who has a good perimeter shot.

It brought to mind when I said to former Phoenix Suns coach Danny Ainge when he was playing for the Sacramento Kings that what his team needed was a seven-footer. His reply was, "Yea but where do you find them?" The answer now is… there's one in China… his name is Yao Ming.

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