Some interesting stuff on ESPN.com today … ESPN/ABC News polled Americans to see how they felt about Barry Bonds eclipsing Hank Aaron’s homerun record. As it turns out, black people don’t hate Barry Bonds nearly as much as white people hate Barry Bonds.
However, race plays a unique role. Black fans in the survey are more than twice as likely to want Bonds to break Aaron’s record (74 percent to 28 percent), and 37 percent of black fans think Bonds used steroids, compared to 76 percent of white fans.
Blacks are nearly twice as likely to think Bonds has been treated unfairly (46 percent to 25 percent). Why? The survey found that 41 percent of black fans think this is due to the steroids issue, 25 percent think it’s because of his race, and 21 percent blame Bonds’ personality.
I’m not sure of all the ramifications here, and I don’t feel like playing amateur sociologist. But one of the interesting things about it, pointed out by Jayson Stark, is that it certainly seems like all of America is rooting against Barry Bonds, and not just 52%. The significant thing here might not be what we’re learning about Americans, but what we’re learning about how the media shapes and presents public sentiment.
Blog Show is safe through May, because we’ve been picked up by the (DC-Baltimore regional cable) network for five more shows, including this one! That’s right, 50 or so more minutes of lame one-liners, oddball t-shirts and … bloggers on TV!
Sites Mentioned:Hardaway Hates Pittsburgh, Kissing SuzyKolber, Joe Sports Fan, With Leather, Chicks Dig the Long Ball, FanHouse, Every Day Should Be Saturday, The Basketball Jones, Brian Cook, TheHype, Deadspin, Yay Sports, Contra Costa Times, Basketbawful, Awful Announcing, The 700 Level, Insomniac’s Lounge, True Hoop, TecmoBlog and The Sports Hernia
Other Quotes Considered for the Headline Here:‘That’s Something That Would Go on in the Dawg Pound, Right?,’ ‘Scared of the Internet,’ ‘My Grandmother’s Never Heard of the eBays,’ ‘The Gloppers and the Gloopers,’ ‘Fashionist of the ’70s,’ ‘Steaming Urine’ and ‘Did You Hear What I Said?’
Note:Blog Show is on the talking picture box Fridays at 6 p.m. as part of Washington Post Live, airing Monday-Friday from 5-6:30 p.m. on ComcastSportsNet in the D.C.-Baltimore region and also on washingtonpost.com. Read more.
John Amaechi spoke yesterday to the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s largest (though, let’s be honest, they probably don’t have a ton of competition) organization of republicans who support gay rights. Amaechi said he expected the worst when he came out, but was pleasantly surprised at the reaction.
“And in fact, 95 percent of the correspondence I’ve had have been overwhelmingly supportive and positive,” Amaechi said. “But I will say that the 5 percent that I’ve had have been unbelievably, viscerally, frighteningly negative.”
Well, we’re Americans. We don’t do anything half-ass. We really put our heart and soul into our hatred. His NBA brethren haven’t been among the hateful crowd, but have done their best to distance themselves from him.
“Probably 30 of my former [NBA] teammates have my e-mail and my telephone contacts and probably 16 or so of those I was in regular touch with and there are probably 10 people who I have [on instant messenger]. And zero — nobody — who’s active in the NBA has been in touch with me since the day I came out, despite the fact that most of them knew I was gay in the first place,” Amaechi said.
He also wondered why nba.com has never mentioned his homosexuality when it was such a huge sports story everywhere else.
I don’t have an answer for you on that one, Meech. But I’m sure David Stern would rather you be gay than be anything like Stephen Jackson. I hope that’s comforting.
Tracy McGrady assumed full responsibility for the outcome before Houston’s series against Utah, then went out in Game 7 and did the Yeoman’s work and still came up short. Then, in the postgame press conference, he couldn’t run from the responsibility and ended up walking away in tears (thanks to TheHype at the FanHouse for the video).
And just to pile on the Rockets, the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey is reporting that Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy is done in Houston, too. JVG is walking away from the job, says Vecsey’s source, in order to “distance himself from the stress of the sidelines.” That’s odd, he certainly doesn’t look like a stressed-out guy.
The second round continues with two more matchups today. We’ve already previewed Suns-Spurs tonight.
Because we feel that no one understands the NBA more like the way we wish we understood the NBA than the gang at Free Darko, we’ve asked them to write up previews of every playoff series throughout the postseason. It will help us understand what’s at stake in each series, what matters, what it means for the individuals involved, their fanbases and their history. And there will also be funny, bizarre, non-linear photographs.
After the jump, our one preview today, the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Jersey Nets. This could be LeBron’s time to keep the legend going; you have to think he’s been rather fortunate with his matchups so far. If you want to hop in with your predictions in the comments, please do. Because we type about sports, and people expect it, our prediction is Cavaliers in 6.
And now, Brown Recluse, Esq., from Free Darko, after the jump. Enjoy.
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Vince Carter. Lebron James. Jason Kidd. All three are unquestionably among the most electrifying talents to play in the NBA over the past decade. Yet, somehow, unless you’re Jay-Z, it’s hard to get too excited about this series. The attention of the hoops world is still focused out West, on Suns/Spurs and now the upstart Warriors. Even in the East, people are more interested in the old vs. young right-way battle between the Pistons and the Bulls than in this series. And we’re talking about one of the best dunkers and one of the best passers in NBA history! Furthermore, it’s only been one year since Lebron James was looking like a basketball god in defeating the full-strength Wizards and taking the Pistons to seven games. What happened?
Injuries are a big part of the story. When a player over the age of 25 misses 20 or so games, it’s easy to write him off as over the hill. That particular fact pattern applies to all three of the Nets’ stars, with Richard Jefferson being the youngest and most recent victim. Kidd has now played two whole seasons on his surgically repaired knee, and I still couldn’t help seeing him as on the verge of retirement. I use the past tense because Kidd’s averaging a triple-double against the Raptors in the first round did a lot to open my eyes. It’s no exaggeration to say he is currently playing the best basketball he’s played since the last time he led the Nets to the NBA Finals. Divorce has done him well. As long as Kidd can still manage to dribble, all he needs is some athletic finishers (and yes, Boki Nachbar counts), and with his extraordinary court vision, his team will always be dangerous.
This year might be the first time that a team’s sweep of a first round opponent makes them look worse than they did going into the playoffs. Playing against a depleted Wizards team missing its two All-Stars, the Cavs seemed to confirm what skeptics have been saying all season about them: They did just enough to get by. With Lebron looking passively dominant, Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden all stepped up and played some of their best ball of the season. So, Lebron’s oft-maligned supporting cast looks improved, and we know what Lebron is capable of when the stage obliges him to raise his game to the highest level. The question is whether, after coasting through much of the year, he’ll be able to just turn it on when he needs to.
With the world looking elsewhere, it is up to the players to construct their own narrative for this series. Lebron’s witnesses have adopted Melo’s no-snitching policy, and as a result, he seems to have a surprisingly small amount of pressure on him. Last year’s post-season performance answered a lot of questions and, in effect, bought him time. Most people realize the limitations of the Cavs roster, and few people expect Lebron to win a championship so soon. He and his people would never admit it, but whether the Cavs win or lose this series will have little effect on Lebron’s legacy. On the other hand, this may be the last chance for Kidd and Carter to win a championship, at least while playing on the same team. Kidd was very nearly traded earlier this spring (to the Lakers), and Carter is in the last year of his contract. While it’s undeniable that these two create a certain kind of magic on the court, it might not make sense for anyone involved to keep this tandem together.
Ultimately, aside from sheer star power, this series will be decided by two factors: post play and experience. While there are some marquee swingmen in this series, the key match-up could be at center. This postseason, the Nets have really missed their young center Nenad Krstic, who has been out since Christmas and would’ve been able to put some offensive pressure on the Cavs’ interior defense. In his place, they use the utterly unexciting Jason Collins and a couple of scrappers. Meanwhile, the Cavs are able to field the comparatively gifted and oddly complementary Gooden/Ilgauskas combo. In the end, the Nets’ experience should carry the day. Nets in seven.
According to The Fight Network, Rich Crunkilton will not be fighting on the next WEC card scheduled for May 12 in Las Vegas. Crunkilton pulled out after suffering an apparent arm injury during training.
It’s being reported by multiple sources that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will make his UFC debut at UFC 73 against Heath Herring.
I believe this will be the third time the two have faced each other, with the two other prior meetings having taken place with Pride.
I’ve read some negative response on the message boards about the matchup but I like it. It makes sense. It’s a match designed for Nogueira to win yet still has a chance to be competitive.
Some interesting stuff on ESPN.com today … ESPN/ABC News polled Americans to see how they felt about Barry Bonds eclipsing Hank Aaron’s homerun record. As it turns out, black people don’t hate Barry Bonds nearly as much as white people hate Barry Bonds.
The second round continues with two more matchups today. We’ve already previewed 
