What's wrong with sports...

[Mike Olbinski]

Ricky Davis banging the ball off the Jazz' rim to try and get his triple-double...

Jim Rome just said it best...that 2 seconds pretty much showed what's wrong with sports and athlete's today...or at least, why the NBA popularity is so low.

Can't believe a player would do that.

Mike

 

[Joe Mama]

IMO it all comes down to money. Players like Ricky Davis can get away with stuff like that because it does not affect somewhere hurts the most... the pocketbook. Ricky Davis is a good player, but by no means is he one of the best in the NBA. He makes something like $5 million per season. He doesn't need any endorsements to live comfortably for the rest of his life. A lot of these players could care less whether anybody really likes them.

It's just too bad there's really no way to go back to the days when players in all sports made "reasonable" money.

Joe Mama

 

[elindholm]

Well....

Everyone has condemned what Davis did. So I don't think that it's fair to say that "that's what's wrong with sports." It was an isolated incident by one jerk, and everyone else immediately moved to distance themselves from it.

The bigger problems are things that the league and its fans have come to accept, like showboating after dunks, refusing to take instruction from coaches, intimidating referees, and wanting to play by different real-life rules from the rest of society.

 

[slinslin]

You guys sound really ''old'' and ''wise''.

What Ricky Davis did is exactly what makes the NBA interessting. How annoying and boring would it be if there weren't guys like Ricky Davis, Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman etc etc ?

I like Ricky and I could care less wether Jerry Sloan and Deshawn Stevenson think he is going to embarass them.

And now the media that is living off of such stories and is all about hyping stats blames Ricky.

And if you don't want them to earn big bucks, stop watching the games. They earned the money they are making now by making this sport popular as it is very important for viewers all around the world that enjoy watching these players.

 

[SweetD]

This just gives the Cavs a reason to bench Ricky and make sure they loose more games. If he would have pulled this off before the trade deadline they would have traded him.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I remember when the NBA was interesting and guys like Jordan, Bird, Magic, etc., didn't have to pad their stats to get a triple-double.

They wanted to win, and that's what they cared about.

Mike

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Chandler Mike
I remember when the NBA was interesting and guys like Jordan, Bird, Magic, etc., didn't have to pad their stats to get a triple-double.

They wanted to win, and that's what they cared about.

Mike

I couldn't have said it better myself. The NBA can be interesting without having idiots do what Davis did.

Whatever happened to the integrity of the game itself?

 

[SirStefan32]

Originally posted by Chandler Mike
I remember when the NBA was interesting and guys like Jordan, Bird, Magic, etc., didn't have to pad their stats to get a triple-double.

They wanted to win, and that's what they cared about.

Mike

I could not agree more. You are absolutely right! What happened to the love of the game of basketball?

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by slinslin
You guys sound really ''old'' and ''wise''.

What Ricky Davis did is exactly what makes the NBA interessting. How annoying and boring would it be if there weren't guys like Ricky Davis, Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman etc etc ?

I like Ricky and I could care less wether Jerry Sloan and Deshawn Stevenson think he is going to embarass them.

And now the media that is living off of such stories and is all about hyping stats blames Ricky.

And if you don't want them to earn big bucks, stop watching the games. They earned the money they are making now by making this sport popular as it is very important for viewers all around the world that enjoy watching these players.

The media and people like ourselves on message boards love to talk about stats, but we don't like players trying to manufacture them at the end of a blowout game. I didn't really like David Robinson shooting the ball a ridiculous number of times to win the scoring title against Shaquille O'Neal six or seven years ago. But at least they were trying to win a game. He wasn't clanking the ball intentionally in order to rack up rebounding numbers.

Furthermore, Ricky Davis did not make the game popular. His predecessors did. I do have a problem with the money these guys are "earning", but I don't feel so strongly about it that I'm going to boycott NBA basketball.

Joe Mama

 

[WizardOfAz]

Monday, March 17

Cavs: Davis' embarrassment punishment enough

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Ricky Davis will not be fined by Cavaliers coach Keith Smart, who said Monday that embarrassment is punishment enough for the stunt against the Utah Jazz.

"The deed is done," Smart said after a morning practice. "What good would it do to slap him on the wrist? He has to live with what he did. Wherever he goes, people will remember it."

Davis attempted to pad his statistics during a 122-95 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. To get his first career triple-double in the final seconds of the lowly Cavs' biggest win of the season, Davis purposely missed a shot at the wrong basket and grabbed the rebound, thinking it was his 10th.

Davis, the team's scoring leader, was fouled hard by the Jazz's DeShawn Stevenson, angered that his club was being mocked. Davis made the two free throws to finish with 28 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

"No comment," the usually exuberant Davis said as he left practice Monday.

Davis apparently did not know that his stunt backfired even without Stevenson fouling him. The rulebook states: "It is a violation for a player to attempt a field goal at an opponent's basket. The opposing team gets the ball."

Davis did not get a shot attempt or his rebound.

"I talked with Ricky after the game," Smart said. "The thing is, one tiny moment ruined the team's most successful game. Ricky had his finest game as far as blending in with his teammates. None of that will be remembered, but what he did will follow him always."

Smart said he and Cavaliers players were embarrassed.

"I felt very, very bad and before Ricky shot the free throws -- I went and apologized," said Smart, who walked over to an incensed Utah coach Jerry Sloan.

Davis signed a six-year, $34 million contract before the season. The 6-foot-7 guard is averaging 20.7 points and is the first player in team history to record three 40-plus scoring games in a season.

Davis also had two run-ins with former coach John Lucas, fired Jan. 20 after a 17-point loss at Utah. Lucas suspended Davis for two games this season for arguing with teammates and being selfish.

The win was just the second in 15 games for the Cavaliers, who have a league-worst 12-53 record. Cleveland needs four wins in its final 17 games to avoid tying the franchise's worst mark of 15-67, set in the inaugural season of 1970-71 and matched in 1981-82.

 

[Chaz]

It is very clear IMO what is wrong with the NBA in particular.

Too many guys (many, not all) in the NBA care more about the money/lifestyle than playing the game. The players who built the NBA didn't play for money, they felt they were fortunate to make money playing the game. Now all these guys want the max contract and, oh yea, it would be nice to win the championship. It is not completely fair to compare eras, but in general it would nice to see a little more respect and appreciation for the game and the fans that make those salaries possible.

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by WizardOfAz
The rulebook states: "It is a violation for a player to attempt a field goal at an opponent's basket. "

Is it?I thought that it's a field goal attempt.Isn't it "at their own basket"?

I'm totally confused.
What did Davis do?
Why is eveybody talking about the "wrong basket" if he tried to grab a rebound at UTA's basket?

 

[Chaplin]

It was Utah's basket in that it was the basket that Utah tries to score in, not the one they are defending.

 

[notakiddfan1]

I dunno, I think the whole thing is kinda funny. Obviously Ricky Davis shouldn't have done it, but it is a little bit comical that he actually would attempt that. I still don't think it makes Ricky a bad person.

The bottom line is, Jerry Sloan was pissed because his team got blown out by the worst team in the league. Ricky Davis' actions weren't embarrassing when you consider Karl Malone's pathetic attempts at disguising his lack of athletic ability by trying to make it look like he gets fouled every time he touches the ball in the post. What is embarrassing is Jerry Sloan pushing a ref when calls don't go his way. It is unfortunate that Davis had to spoil a very good individual game and team victory in such a way, but for the Cavs coach to say that the deed is going to follow him around wherever he goes is a little bit of an exaggeration. The next time Yao Ming makes a fadeaway jumper, or Michael Jordan dunks the ball, or a Blazer player runs over an NBA ref's first-born child for a questionable no-call, this will be all but forgotten.

If it was any other team in the league, I would say, "Ricky Davis, shame on you!" but let's be honest, it's the Jazz, and wouldn't everybody on this board do exactly the same thing?

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by Chaplin
It was Utah's basket in that it was the basket that Utah tries to score in, not the one they are defending.

Thanks but I still don't get it.

So what did Davis exactly do?
Did he grab a defensive rebound and did he take a shot at his own (CLE's board/basket)?
And did he purposedly miss this to take the rebound?

If this is true then why the article quoted the rule what is talking about the "opponent's basket"?
Was it Davis' own basket?

 

[elindholm]

Davis shot at his own basket, the one that Utah would normally score in. I don't know why the rule is misquoted. I don't think that basketball is different from any other sport: "your" goal is the one you try to defend, not the one you try to score in.

 

[SirStefan32]

Somebody inbounded the ball to Davis under his own (Cleveland's) basket, the one Cavs are defending, the one Utah is supposed to put the ball through. He throws the ball on the rim, and grabs the rebound, and then takes it down the court.

 

[hcsilla]

Thanks I finally understand it except one thing.

Why and when did Stevenson fault Davis??
Is Stevenson a "fair-play"-judge or what?
But he isn't that big gentleman with 16-years old girls.....

 

[green machine]

Go

What Davis did was dumb. It goes to show that: 1, the players don't even know the rules of the game. 2, there are players who only care about their own stats, not the game.

I saw the play, and it reminded me of the time I almost scored on my own basket in a game a long time ago , only I wasn't trying to do that. Lucky for me, I suck, and I missed the shot

I hope Davis learns from this, but I don't think he will. He seems to be an arrogant son of a bitch, and probably thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

adam
________
Yzf750

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

Maybe its me but I have a feeling he made a bet with a teamate while he was sitting in the bench on whether he could do it or not. So he went out there and did it. I guess he won the bet. Or did he...

 

[SweetD]

He did not get credit for the rebound. and missed his tripple douple by one rebound