Archive for May, 2009

This past week, a reader asked if we could run one of our world-famous Keltner Lists on Detlef Schrempf, a player he felt had really been underrated by the general public. And I happen to agree, I think Detlef has always been slept on by the media. But does that mean he belongs in the Hall of Fame, or just the lesser-known Hall of Really Underappreciated? Let's find out...

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From the New York Times (via TrueHoop): William C. Rhoden and the great trumpeter Wynton Marsalis talk about the parallels between two of the biggest personal passions in my life: basketball and jazz music.

Sporcle time, ladies and gentlemen: Can you name the NBA's all-time career coaching wins leaders?

First things first: I hate the BCS. I think it's a ridiculous system defended by a number of ridiculous claims ("Every week is a playoff!"). That said, some comments in another post got me thinking about how this year's post-season might look if the NBA decided to go to a BCS-style system. Before we move forward, though, we need some ground rules that are similar to the rules currently used by the BCS:

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ESPN's Outside the Lines (for my money, probably the best program on the network) showed a very thought-provoking piece today about former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley, who was forced to retire this year shortly after an early-season trade sent him from the Clippers to the Knicks for salary-cap purposes. In the trade physical, it was supposedly discovered that Mobley had a life-threatening heart condition, but new reports have surfaced indicating that Mobley's condition was known to teams as far back as his Houston days (for instance, each of his 4 teams had a clause written into his contract absolving them of liability in the event of on-court death). The report raises questions about the commodification of players as "walking contracts" under the current CBA, an unsettling circumstance particularly heightened by the battle for who gets the cap and/or luxury tax benefits out of Mobley's very serious health condition.

Most Wayman Tisdale memorial pieces over the past few weeks focused on his great college career, his terrific musical talent, and his irreplaceable personality, but few systematically broke down his pro career and looked at him as a player without the positive bias one is tempted to include because of what a great person he was (speaking for myself, I know I'm guilty of glossing over his somewhat disappointing pro career for that reason). Harlan Schreiber of HoopsAnalyst, though, took on the challenge of putting aside personal feelings for Wayman, and the result is a really good retrospective on the strengths and weaknesses of Tisdale the player.

Well, this past week's games haven't exactly gone according to the numbers, have they? In both of this year's conference finals, we're headed for some pretty serious upsets, at least if you believed the Simple Rating System -- in the East, the Orlando Magic (SRS: 6.49) are really wearing out the Cleveland Cavaliers (8.68), and while the Denver Nuggets (3.13)-vs.-L.A. Lakers (7.11) West finals are technically tied, you can't help but see the Nuggets as the more dominant team in the series right now.

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Here's a good Sporcle quiz that is sure to bring back memories... Can you name ESPN's Top 25 College Basketball Players of All Time?

Sports Reference is now accepting applications for the position of User Affairs Coordinator. Follow the link for a job description and more information.

Click here for the results for Round 1.

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