There is an "I" in his team

There is an "I" in his team

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After the first week of NBA action, do you know who the top team in the East is? No, it's not the Magic - and with Grant Hill's ankle injury sidelining him for an extended period of time, it won't be Orlando anytime soon. Without 'Zo, it certainly isn't Miami. Nope, not the Pacers or Bucks either. Surprise, it's the Philadelphia 76ers, who currently stand at 4-0 atop the Eastern Conference. Is this finally the year Allen Iverson leads his team to the Promised Land? Will he learn how to put aside his differences with head coach Larry Brown, unselfishly ignoring his ego for the good of the team? Nah.

Sure, Iverson averaged more than 25 points, six boards and five assists in Philly's opening victories over the Knicks, Raptors, Magic and Heat, but he hasn't been as spectacular as those numbers, or the wins, would indicate. He's only shooting 37% from the floor (32-85), a number severely handicapped by his horrendous 17% (3-17) from beyond the arc. He currently leads the 76ers in FG attempts with 85 - PG Eric Snow is second on the team with 35. In contrast, Shaquille O'Neal leads the NBA with 91 FG attempts, while teammate Kobe Bryant has attempted 66 shots over the Lakers' first four games. The difference? Shaq's hit 55 of his attempts (60%), almost twice as many as Iverson's connected on.

But what's the big deal, you ask? After all, he may not be shooting well but at least Iverson's scoring and Philly's winning. Until he figures out there are other capable scorers on the floor with him, though, Iverson will never be a premier player in this league and, consequently, he'll never play on a championship team. Toni Kukoc (11.3 ppg), Theo Ratliff (11.0) and Snow (11.0) are the 76ers' second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers, yet they've only attempted 34, 27 and 35 shots, respectively. Each is also shooting the ball exceptionally well this year, as Kukoc has hit 59% of his attempts, Ratliff currently leads the league at 66% and Snow, a notoriously terrible shooter, stands at a respectable 45% from the field. Yet there's Iverson, launching bricks from all over the floor, missing 63% of his shots and, as always, mixing in a few air balls.

But the Sixers have been lucky thus far as his horrendous shooting hasn't cost the team any games. But it's been close. After Philly blew out the Knicks 101-72 on opening night, things got much tougher for Iverson and his teammates, winning their next three games by a total of only 15 points. Against Orlando, the 76ers pulled out a comeback victory despite a 1-8 fourth quarter for Iverson, but only because the Magic missed 20 of their 25 fourth-quarter attempts. Against another team on another night, Iverson's inaccuracy would have cost Philly, and after only one week of play there are still plenty of other teams to play on plenty of other nights. Get the idea?

If the 76ers plan on making any noise this year, Iverson needs to cut back on his shots - at least his ill-advised ones - and instead try to get his teammates more involved in the action. In that blowout win over the Knicks, the talented guard not only scored 25 points, but he also dished out nine assists; he only registered 11 assists in the three following games. It's obvious he's the most talented player on his team and he therefore should be shooting the most, but history has proven it takes more than one star to win anything in this league. If anyone reading this thinks Michael Jordan could have led the Bulls to all those championships without Scottie Pippen's help, it's time to tear down that MJ shrine of yours and realize that nobody's that good. Jordan couldn't do it alone, Shaq didn't last season and Iverson can't either. He could lead the league in scoring every year, but until he learns how to spell "team," Iverson will never be worthy of his bloated reputation.

The strike zone and Manny

Baseball's general managers meetings are currently being held in Florida, and perhaps lost in all the free agent and trade talk is baseball's vow to once again call the high strike in 2001. Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations, said there will be a concerted effort to eliminate individual interpretations of the strike zone by the umpires next season, a move that would hopefully "bring uniformity back... and go back to the rule book." Apparently the umpires will meet in January to go over the "new" strike zone and then they'll have a meeting with the players in February. Alderson said the by-the-book zone would be instituted during spring training to give players and pitchers enough time to adjust to it before the regular season starts.

Assuming it really happens next season, this is a sign that baseball's higher-ups finally realize a home run has become as exciting as a handoff or a free throw. It's about time. I, like so many baseball fans, am so tired of seeing 12-8 games in the bottom of the fourth inning because the pitchers can't get a called strike at the belt. Hopefully this move will finally take some attention away from Mark McGwire and the almighty long ball, and instead make the sacrifice bunt, the stolen base and the called-third strike once again intriguing and essential aspects of the game.

Speaking of baseball, where does Manny Ramirez get the nerve to ask the Cleveland Indians for a 10-year, $200 million contract? Yeah, you can hit the holy hell out of the ball, Manny, but until you learn how to run from first to third on a single or when to hit the cutoff man from right field, you're really nothing more than a DH with a glove, someone who most definitely should not be the highest-paid player in baseball. Rest assured, Cleveland won't give him that kind of cash, but if a team like the Yankees or Rockies is willing to fork it over, wait until you see the kind of money Alex Rodriguez demands this offseason. After all, he probably should be the highest-paid player in the game. I smell another lockout... .

In the Bullz-Eye

The St. Louis Rams. While losing QB Kurt Warner to a broken finger certainly hurt the Rams' repeat chances, backup Trent Green has proven to be almost as effective as last season's regular season and Super Bowl MVP. But now superstar RB Marshall Faulk will be out for at least three weeks after undergoing surgery to remove loose cartilage from his right knee. Normally, losing Faulk for such a short period of time wouldn't seriously affect St. Louis because they play in possibly the worst division in football, the NFC West. But the Rams, who last weekend lost to the Panthers without Faulk in the backfield, are entering the toughest part of their schedule as they play the Giants, Redskins and Saints in the next three weeks, teams with a combined record of 18-9. Without Faulk, who many consider to be the best player in football, St. Louis could conceivably fall behind in the playoff picture.

 
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