Mark Cuban...enough already.

This blog is going to be on Mark Cuban. I for one am sick of his unprofessional and immature and sometimes even pathetic behavior.

At times Cuban seems like a likable fan friendly owner who you could actually sit down with and shoot the breeze, but then he does something he should be embarrassed about. He's like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

From what I know about Cuban which I admit isn't much, he seems like a very honorable person that just has a mean streak that he needs to control. Last week Cuban walked onto the court at half time to have words with Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith after Smith supposedly threw an elbow at a Mavericks forward Antoine Wright. Maybe Cuban was right, but at no time should an owner be allowed onto a court during a game to protest a call or join in a fight or exchange words with an opposing player.

Cuban was fined $25,000 for this incident. The cool thing about Cuban is that every time he is fned by the NBA, which is more frequent than most people, he donates to charity dollar for dollar. In this case he decided to donate the the National Hockey League Players Association Goals and Dreams fund in the names of Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore. In my opinion that was a completely classless act. Cuban's goal is to keep agitating David Stern and J.R. Smith. The problem I have with this move is because the reason Cuban donated to this fund. The reason for this in his words was "As a reminder of what could have happened, and that not every retaliation attempt misses. Tragedy can be one swing or one elbow away. There is no place for any action that could end someone’s career or worse, in any sport."

After I read that the first thing I thought is that it was him warning what could possibly happen if someone decided to take revenge, but then he softens his words and says there is no place for action. Exactly, just as there is no reason you should be donating money in someones name to prove a point and gain more exposure.

My opinion of Mark Cuban's future. I think he might thank me for this idea if he ever reads this. But I'm sure eventually David Stern will grow tired of his act, and will attempt to somehow keep him in an owner's box instead of at courtside. They will probably require owners to stay up there unless it's during an official ceremony or some other reason an owner should be down courtside. BUT...Mark Cuban isn't a dummy. He will name himself as an assistant coach, or possibly even the head coach of the team so he's at courtside and allowed to voice his opinion to the officials and yell at opposing players and referees and throw a temper tantrum in front of thousands of people.

Mark Cuban in my opinion needs to act like a professional. Alot of the things he does I actually admire. I admire the way he hates to lose, and I don't have a problem with him saying what he wants to say about the officials or even fans or even me or anyone for that matter after the game. He shouldn't be adding fuel to the fire and trying to get J.R. Smith to get in touch with him about what charity he should be donating to in his name. And then when you don't hear back from him, you shouldn't be blogging saying that he still hasn't heard from him.

I do want to say some more positive about him. He is probably the biggest sports fan in the entire world. Cuban bought a team that he was supporting and kept the same seats as when he was a fan. From the time he bought the Mavericks in 2000 the franchise hasn't been the same. He changed that team for the better and that is something everyone should admire about him. He bought his favorite team and turned them into a competitive team and at the same time was interacting with the fans and listening to their suggestions and made Mavericks games fun to go to. So he really does seem like a guy you could have a drink with, but he really needs to stop with the immature things already. I hope Mark takes this as a suggestion and changes his behavior.

NHL-About the superstars only

The National Hockey League is a league that claims to be doing all it can to take hits to the head out of the game. They have rules in place to penalize players for slowing up other players by impeding their movements. They have rules against slashing other players sticks with your own. They even have a rule about the third man into a fight should be given a game-misconduct. However, if you're a superstar in the league, notably Sidney Crosby you're allowed to do anything and only receive a 2 minute penalty. Even a player like Alexei Kovalev gets a free pass.

The NHL isn't being fair in the way they hand out their suspensions. Sean Avery who is known across the league as an agitator who likes to instigate fights and get under the opponents skin. Avery took this role so seriously earlier this season he publicly said "I am really happy to be back in Calgary, I love Canada," Avery said Tuesday morning. "I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about. Enjoy the game tonight."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnXC6C_b0CA

At worst this comment was degrading to the women he used to date, and offensive to parents who had to explain these comments to children. Avery received a six game suspension. In my opinion that was a bit harsh for opening his mouth. Maybe a game or two at most would've been sufficient. The NHL was obvious in their content for Avery when they rightfully put in a rule called the "Sean Avery Rule" which forbid a player from standing in front of the goalie and putting a stick in the face of the goaltender. This was the day after Avery did this to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils during the playoffs last season.

On November 15 in a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens, Kovalev hit Simon Gagne with an elbow away from the play. Gagne for those unfamiliar with hockey, missed the majority of last season after suffering a concussion. For those who have missed the hit, here is a replay of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlGdGDVuVl8 More proof of how players like Kovalev get away with doing what they please. Last season against Toronto he elbows Darcy Tucker, who is in his own right a dirty player, but all Kovalev gets is 5 minutes for elbowing. That's from 3 years ago, and he wasn't suspended for that either. So Apparently the NHL allows Kovalev to elbow other players as much as he wants, but he'll never learn because the NHL allows him to keep doing it.

Now on to the King of Crying, the NHL's favorite son, Sidney Crosby. I'll admit he has immense talent, but he's a whiner. Players around the league all know that he has a tendencey to whine like a bitch. But how he didn't get suspended for the video following this, atleast for a game, is proof that the NHL doesn't care what players do, but who the players involved are. During a game on December 18, Crosby showed exactly how little balls he has. While his teamate Brooks Orpik was in a tangle with the Thrashers Boris Valabik. Crosby comes up and starts punching Valabik while Orpik is already throwing punches with him. They're more like cheap shots, Crosby even hits him between the legs from the back, as if he was trying to grab his balls. So Crosby the tough guy that he is can't even face him when he punches, but he also can't do it one on one. The NHL needs to address the situation, maybe Crosby shouldn't be suspended for it, but he certainly should've received more than 2 minutes for roughing. The NHL is failing it's players in keeping them safe. Maybe it wasn't dangerous as the Kovalev hit was, but Crosby needs to stop getting free passes from the league to act like a whiney bitch and start to play like a man. If he's gonna start punching someone, he should atleast have the balls to hit them from the front. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wqR17KrLKw If you agree with me, leave a post below.

Yankees are ruining baseball

The New York Yankess are ruining baseball. Their bottomless pockets are ruining the game to millions of baseball fans around the country. Major League Baseball needs a salary cap ASAP, or MLB will be ruined. This offseason the Yankees have spent almost $430 Million, on 3 players. C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Texiera. Last season they spent $250 million on Alex Rodriguez. The New York Yankees don't even care that they are ruining baseball for millions of fans. If you're a fan of MLB then we all need to find a way to show baseball with our displeasure on how it's operated. I know the Yankees fans are happy, and they should be. I'm not saying that the Yankees shouldn't attempt to put out the best team possible, because they absolutely should. But the fact remains that several teams can't afford to make these offers to players. If MLB continues to operate this way, then they should just start getting rid of teams like the Kanses City Royals who have no shot of winning a World Series EVER. The luxury tax doesn't work. the only way to make things work is for MLB owners to have a lockout. (Which both New York teams, Red Sox, and Angels would all vote against)

In 2004-2005 the owners of the NHL locked out the players. In doing so, the entire season was lost. But it also helped with a competitive balance throughout the league. The players lost a significant amount from this including all player salaries were cut by 24%. No matter how rich you are that's almost a quarter of your yearly salary. Since the lockout fan attendance is up and the game is more exciting than ever before. They put a salary cap in place that could potentially go up every year based on revenues. They also have a floor where all teams must meet a certain amount for their teams payroll. Several teams operate close to this but that just means they don't want to win. Or that they've been managed poorly and are close to being broke.

Regardless of other sports, MLB's system to try and keep the competitive balance fair isn't working. Forcing teams to pay money that they make in a week isn't going to stop them from signing every good player that hits the market. Every fan of baseball should have a team to root for, but also for a team that eventually has a chance to win a championship.

Rob Parker of the Detroit News

Rob Parker, a reporter for the Detroit News is an idiot. Why is he an idiot? I'll explain in due time. I'm not going to claim to know a lot about Mr. Parker because I didn't know who he was until today. So mission accomplished on his part.

Yesterday during the post game press conference for the 0-15 Detroit Lions, Parker, as he's done all season, asked Coach Rod Marinelli if he would fire his defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Barry just so happens to be Marinelli's son-in-law. Every week Parker has continued to ask this question after each game, this is according to Parker himself. Yesterday he decided to cross the line. He asked Marinelli if he wished his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator. That question is completely inappropriate, and he actually tried to justify this stupid comment as an attempt at humor. Seriously people! He said that he was trying to make light of the situation. Ask yourself this...if you were Marinelli would you have picked up the podium and thrown it at him? I wouldn't have, but that's only because I'm weak and I probably wouldn't be able to pick it up.

Parker's excuse was probably as much of an insult to Marinelli as the quesion originally posed. Parker tries to make himself seem like a concerned parent. He said he was "trying to get Marinelli to lighten up, have some fun after a rough day." Go read his excuse athttp://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081222/OPINION03/812220369/1004 . After being criticized on national TV one of his ego defense mechanism's kicked in. Rationalization, which is supplying a logical or rational reason as opposed to the real reason. In other words, his excuse was him trying to make it seem as if he was trying to be a comedian instead of a sports reporter. But in my opinion he feels as if he is at a point where he wishes to persue further national exposure.
He is a frequent guest on ESPN's "ESPN First Take." Parker is probably anxious to be like Stephen A. Smith who rose to fame as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith no longer works for the Inquirer because he too was in search of more fame (which is their every right.) Parker's quesion was premeditated and was an attempt to make himself popular for asking tough questions. I believe he wants to work more on radio and TV as opposed to working at the Detroit News.

Parkers question was inappropriate, it was unprofessional. His apology was weak at best. The problem with sports reporters is they are all failing miserably at their jobs. Their job is to ask questions that the fans want answered. It's not to ask questions to give themselves more exposure and become a household name. I don't want to see Parker fired though. Even though his question was classless, I firmly believe everyone deserves a second chance. Although many detroit sports fans feel as if Parker has had several. I want to see if Parker can become a better reporter after this. Even professionals, no matter how unprofessional they may be, need to learn from their mistakes as well as us fans. Hopefully, he learned not to ask stupid questions.




I apologize if my grammer, puncuation and spelling are poor. I have absolutely no writing ability, but I'd like to try and voice my opinions on sports and other things. If you like my opinion please feel free to read it and check back on occassions for new blogs. If you don't agree with me, leave a comment. I am the type where if I feel like I've been proved wrong I will admit that I am wrong.