Random Sports Rant

Look, I hardly ever post about sports, even though I'm a sports nut, so give me a break. This is my therapy!

[begin sports rant]

• David Stern has completely lost what credibility he had with his ruling over the fiasco during the San Antonio/Phoenix game. Suspending the Suns' Stoudamire and Diaw one game for doing nothing more than leaving the bench after the Spurs' Robert Horry sent their teammate (and MVP) Steve Nash flying is complete garbage. Horry gets two games for two separate dirty plays, and Stoudamire and Diaw get one game for... leaving the bench. They didn't get in anyone's face, didn't head-butt anyone, didn't throw a punch. They didn't touch anyone. They left the bench when they saw their all-star point guard shoved into chairs, but stopped well-short of reaching the other team. Now San Antonio loses a reserve player (yes, who can hit a big shot here and there, but come on, he's averaging 4.8 points per game in this series) for two games, and Phoenix loses a first-team all-NBA selection who's averaging 23.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in the series, as well as his backup in Diaw. And this with the series tied 2-2 and going back to Phoenix. Unlike a lot of people, I'm not counting Phoenix out of the next game because Nash is the kind of player who can will a team to victory, but this decision by the league has the potential to dramatically affect the outcome of this series, and that's just plain wrong. Horry tries to hurt a player, and his team ends up with the advantage? That's disgraceful.


• The Wings vs. the Ducks. That's pretty funny sounding, if you think about it. Last night, the Wings bitch-slapped the Ducks and made them look like a minor-league club. How does 5-0 sound, Annaheim? Tomas Holmstrom was a monster with two goals, an assist, and 13 stitches after the Ducks' Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger cheap-shotted him into the boards. Niedermayer was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit (Pronger wasn't given any penalty, though he should have at least been given a boarding call). I was sure Holmstrom was done for the night with the way he was lying on the ice, blood running down his face and his eyes glazed over. But when the third period started, there he was back out on the ice causing havok in the Ducks' zone. Some tough dudes out on that ice. Oh, and to the Anaheim fans who cheered when Holmstrom went down and chanted "Ref, you suck" when Niedermayer was kicked out of the game: Fuck you. Learn the difference between a good hit and a bullshit cheap shot.


• Hey, Pistons, how about you wake up and realize the Bulls aren't rolling over for you? Getting blown out at home in game 5? You better show the hell up in Chicago. I know no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA series, but it was that way in baseball until a certain Sox team punked a certain Yankee team a few years ago.


• Tigers are playing good ball. So three of the major Detroit teams are championship caliber. If only the Lions could learn the game of (American) football...

[end sports rant]