The Baltimore Ravens, Kobe & Shaq, & Jeff Van Gundy

The Baltimore Ravens, Kobe & Shaq, & Jeff Van Gundy

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The football gods took time out of their busy schedules this past Sunday to once again poke some fun at their favorite targets, Ohio sports fans. More specifically, the gridiron gods took aim at Cleveland Browns and Ohio State football enthusiasts during Sunday's AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders. 

As a rabid Browns fan, watching the Ravens dismantle the Raiders, picking their way to this year's Super Bowl behind another devastating performance from their defense, was depressing enough. But witnessing Art Modell, the money-grubbing owner who moved the brown and orange out of Cleveland five years ago, accept that AFC trophy was nearly nauseating, and then actually hearing him thank the Cleveland fans for their past support literally had my stomach doing cartwheels. Some people look at those comments as a gracious move by the Baltimore owner, a sign that he is ready to move on. But it was more likely Modell once again thumbing his nose at the fans that would lynch him on the fifty-yard line if given the chance. After all, he's finally going to the Super Bowl after coming so close several times with the Browns; meanwhile, we Cleveland fans are in the process of finding the coach who could lead our team to an inspired five-win season. Don't think Modell doesn't find joy and comfort in that.

But the football gods couldn't stop there. No, those practitioners of irony really found pleasure in torturing Browns and Buckeyes fans last Sunday - in Northeast Ohio, you most likely follow both teams. First, we had to watch a team assembled by Ozzie Newsome and coached by Brian Billick advance to the Super Bowl. Newsome, a fan favorite for more than a decade as a tight end in Cleveland, turned down a front office position with the Browns to show his loyalty to Modell; Billick interviewed with Cleveland when the expansion team was looking for its first coach. He chose Baltimore. Carmen Policy chose Chris Palmer. On the field, OSU fans cringed when Bobby Hoying came in to replace injured Oakland QB Rich Gannon because we knew what would happen: Hoying threw two key interceptions, one deep in his own territory, that sealed the game for the Ravens. But the fun didn't stop there. Charles Woodson, Oakland's superb CB who tormented Ohio State fans during his years at the University of Michigan, temporarily lost his cool and pushed Baltimore's Qadry Ismail to the ground after play had ended, a move that resulted in a personal foul against the Raiders and gave the Ravens a much-needed first down. Then, with just over six minutes remaining in the game and the Raiders down by 13, Hoying whipped a pass to the goal line that bounced off the intended receiver's chest. That receiver was Andre "Bad Moon" Rison, a man who spent a couple of unproductive seasons playing on the shores of Lake Erie for Modell before moving elsewhere. A few plays later, Hoying hooked up with Rison for an apparent touchdown, only someone failed to tell Bad Moon that you can't push a cornerback out of your way when you're trying to catch the ball. That's a no-no, something called "pass interference." A couple of snaps later, Hoying threw his second interception. Game over. But five years later, the misery in Cleveland lives on. 

A few days after the AFC Championship game, I noticed this survey on ESPN.com: "Who's more bitter about Super Bowl XXXV, Jets fans or Browns fans?" I, along with more than 70% of those who answered the question, submitted my vote with pride.

Playing keep-away

I'm so tired of hearing about this whole Shaq/Kobe marital spat. This one thinks he should have the ball with the game on the line, the other one thinks he should. This one believes he's the best in the NBA, but the other one knows he is. This one can dominate any game at any time, but so can the other one. The situation really is ridiculous for a couple of reasons. First, L.A. currently sits at 25-12, 2 ½ games behind division leader Portland and firmly entrenched in the playoff race. Of course, the Lakers aren't playing at the level of supremacy they reached during last year's championship run, but that's not because of this Shaq/Kobe riff. The rest of the West is playing much better basketball than in the 1999-2000 season, making a repeat performance much harder on the Lakers than anyone thought it would be. And for all the headaches Glen Rice caused in his time in the purple and gold, his 15 points were needed each and every night as Kobe and Shaq relied on a third wheel to balance out the scoring load. This season, the two superstars are the only players averaging double-digit points. The team's third-leading scorer is Rick Fox. At eight points a game.

But this whole debate really leans toward lunacy because the answer to the problem (and the end to the exaggerated and overblown public feud) seems simple enough to me: Kobe gets the ball for one major reason, his work from the line. On the season, Shaq's been to the charity stripe 140 more times than his exuberant teammate, yet Kobe's sunk 78 more free throws this year. Kobe connects on 87% of his freebies, Shaq clanks 'em up there at a ridiculous 40% clip. When crunch time rolls around and the Lakers are hanging on to a miniscule lead, which player would you, as Phil Jackson or as any typical Lakers fan, want with the ball, Mr. Automatic or Mr. Automiss? Case in point: During L.A.'s recent win over the Cavaliers, the Lakers held a single-digit lead with about two minutes left in the game. Kobe and Shaq both had typical games from the floor and the line, but in those closing minutes Kobe begged for the ball on every single inbounds pass, daring the Cavs to send him to the stripe. Shaq, on the other hand, inbounded the ball then put his head down and simply ran away from the ball and every Cleveland player on the floor. It was obvious he didn't want the game to hinge on his terrible free throw shooting. Kobe understands that, and Kobe doesn't let it happen. Case closed.

The Peacemaker

When will Jeff Van Gundy learn? The scrappy New York Knicks coach needed at least 10 stitches to close a wound caused by an inadvertent Marcus Camby head butt during the New York/San Antonio game this past Monday. Van Gundy was trying to stop Camby, his starting center, from landing a wicked roundhouse punch intended for Spurs forward Danny Ferry. Mission successful as the punch missed Ferry, but Van Gundy was floored after colliding heads with Camby. Of course, this isn't the first time the Knicks coach has been seen in the middle of an NBA melee: In a 1998 postseason game between New York and the Miami Heat, a fight broke out between Knicks forward Larry Johnson, 6'7", and Miami center Alonzo Mourning, 6'10". Van Gundy, who possibly stands at 5'5" on top of a few phone books, again rushed into the middle of the fight and tried to pull 'Zo out by his leg, but instead ended up hanging on to the center's ankle for dear life throughout the scuffle. Hey, Jeff, let the big men work out their differences by themselves, or at the very least bring a stepladder and your helmet when you intend on playing referee again.


QuickQuote:

"Basketball has always been a very important part of my, and my family's, life. But it was never a case where basketball was more important than my family. With me, it's always been family first."

-- University of Arizona head basketball coach 
Lute Olson on how the loss of his wife Bobbi, who 
recently died after a 2 ½-year battle with cancer, will 
affect his outlook on and approach to coaching

 
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