A Stern warning...Part One - by Apollo

It's now been confirmed that wongoz has returned from his Asian escapades. While this would normally mean we'll hear from him in about another month, hopefully recent events in the sports world will draw him out to actually post sometime soon. For further details on his Asian travels, you can of course check out his website.

This past weekend, Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest was involved in an ugly incident near the end of his team's victory over the defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. After a hard foul and subsequent melee with Pistons centre Ben Wallace, Artest was calmly lying on the scorer's table waiting for the foul situation to be ironed out. The referees had called the game with less than a minute left and the players were going to be dispersed to their respective locker rooms. We'll have to wonder "What If" for quite some time about how the evening would have ended if the Pacers had only been able to reach their lockers earlier.

In a strange and sad chain of events, a brilliant Pistons fan decided to throw a drink at Artest, hitting him squarely in the stomach. In addition to being covered with ice and beer, Artest lost it completely and ventured into the stands after the genius who launched what was probably his 10th drink of the night. Rather than scramble out of his way and evacuate, the good citizens of Michigan decided it was time to fight back against the oncoming NBA millionaire and punches began flying. The lax security was not enough to stop other players, including Pacers teammates Stephen Jackson, and coaches from going after Artest. Some tried to restrain him and bring him back to the floor, others helped him against a growing wave of unruly, inebriated fans who fought back, and the riot blew up. Later, with angry fans now on the court, Pacers star Jermaine O'Neal punched another fan in the face who had confronted Artest. The Pacers were eventually evacuated under a rain of drinks, ice and debris that flew onto them from fans around the court. At one point, a chair was thrown directly at O'Neal's head.

NBA Commissioner David Stern wasted no time in handing out severe suspensions yesterday. Artest was banished for the rest of the season. O'Neal received 25 games while Jackson received 30. While the suspensions effectively kill Indiana's playoff and championship hopes pending appeal by the NBA Players' Association, Stern said very little about the behaviour of the Detroit fans, which he called "disgusting" but focused all of his wrath on Artest, a repeat offender for other league violations, and his teammates, who's behaviour Stern called "inexcusable".

While I find it very difficult to defend the extreme behaviour of the Pacers players, the suspensions by Stern reek of catering to the whims of advertisers and television networks, not to mention suburban American fans who Stern relies on for money. Very little has been mentioned about the danger of the situation caused by Detroit fans, nor the fact that the security provided by the Palace of Auburn Hills staff was severely lacking for such a situation. Pacers coaches and players have commented that they literally felt as if they were "fighting for their lives" during the melee. Stern's suspensions, which he himself decided without a vote of any other executive or board, is in essence his way of telling the conservative fans who go to games and the advertising companies who contribute to league revenues "Don't worry about that, it's an isolated incident. I'll make sure my crazy black basketball players don't ruin your entertainment and stay on the court where they belong".

While hopefully race had very little to do with the suspensions, Stern has carefully avoided singling out the Pistons, the Michigan fans or the security for any blame whatsoever in this incident when clearly they all must share some of it. Artest may have been the one to venture into the stands, but Pistons fans were just as guilty of escalating the situation even further out of control. With coaches and staff trying to steer players off the court, fans took the opportunity to provoke the players even further and grew increasingly confident that no retaliation would come and that the crowd's sheer number would protect their anonymity.

In many ways, Stern's hand was forced. With potential criminal charges pending from the police investigation of the incidents, Stern had to show that the league was taking the entire situation very seriously. His hope is that the authorities will support his punishment and respect the NBA's autonomy as a league and essentially leave them alone. With Artest and his bizarre antics gone for the season, advertisers and network executives won't have to worry about any further "incidents" and can continue to pay for the broadcast of basketball without reservation. It is sad then that Artest, who has done a lot of weird and crazy things in his short career, is essentially being made the scapegoat in this affair. Some argue that Artest as a high paid NBA millionaire overreacted and that there is some unwritten rule about never entering the stands.

In my view, how much a person is paid is absolutely irrelevant to what behaviour they should be forced to endure. Last time I checked, there was no specific agreement that buying a ticket entitles a fan to heckle and essentially do whatever they want to players. Society seems to accept that a high priced athlete should turn the other cheek and take whatever insults or criticism is directed at him as a small token of appreciation for the wealthy lifestyle that their salaries afford. I've never understood that, particularly since athletes are paid as revenue-generating elements - they help make owners and the leauge money. Their salaries don't include "danger pay" or any kind of compensation for enduring abuse.

The fans who caused this entire problem in the first place will most likely never be located and never be charged with anything whatsoever. We'll never hear about them unless they of course bring some civil lawsuit against Artest and others, looking for additional compensation. These fans will happily remain unpunished and anonymous, and no doubt start crafting the next incident to mar the reputation of Detroit and its fans. Meanwhile, the Pacers will start losing, Artest and his suspended teammates will not be paid and Stern will continue his well oiled money making machine without further interruption. In many ways, Stern's response was his only logical choice, but that does not make his decision the right one. In any event, when dealing with an issue that draws so much passion and opinion, the only "right" decision for Stern was to sacrifice his players to protect his wallet.

Temporary Vinsanity...by Apollo

While Wongoz continues to travel the world, he and others will no doubt be monitoring various sports media services over the next few days for particulars on a rumoured trade involving Toronto Raptors basketball star Vince Carter. Breaking news in the last 24 hours have cited the ubiquitous "league sources" to support a possible trade between the Raptors and the Portland Trailblazers involving combinations of Carter, guard Jalen Rose, and Blazers Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Nick Van Exel, and Derek Anderson. The only sure thing is that if Carter is traded, it will be the single most important transaction in Raptor general manager Rod Babcock's short tenure to date, and perhaps the most important trade of this franchise's 10-year history.

The VC era in Toronto was once so promising, so bright, and so full of potential that ESPN The Magazine once annointed the young guard its "Next" cover star. Carter, who announced his arrival to the basketball world with a jaw-dropping performance at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, where he started as a sophmore and won the Slam Dunk Competition, led Toronto to its only playoff round win in franchise history. As every Raptor fan knows, Toronto came within a missed Carter jump shot from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. Even when Carter's cousin, Tracy McGrady, disrespected the franchise and left as a free agent, Carter elected to stay, signing a contract extension and endearing himself to basketball fans and media everywhere. Carter's popularity has won him the highest number of votes for the annual NBA All-Star Game on a number of occassions, even during seasons where he has been injured.

As Wongoz has already diarized however, Vince has fallen out of favour in recent years. Injuries, a lack of performance, a lack of the spectacular dunks and drives to the basket that he was once known for, and the fickle preferences of sports media and fans in a city that doesn't necessarily know everything about pro basketball (but thinks it does), have combined to make Vince a tarnished superstar, culminating in his weak trade request this summer. Although both Carter and Rahim have backed off of trade demands in recent weeks, it appears they both now may be traded, whether they want it or not.

Carter's performances so far this season have been nothing short of dismal. Playing for his third coach in three years, Vince has seemed indifferent on the court and is settling for the jump shot even more often than usual. While his defence has improved more than anyone will give him credit for, his lone bright spots this season were a game-winning three point shot against Portland earlier in the year and a first quarter performance against Seattle where he did not miss a shot. While he has shown flashes of the old VC from time to time, this has only caused fans and his critics to jump all over him further, claiming that he's capable of playing better if he put more effort into his game. All the more maddening is that this year's Raptor squad is a competitive bunch, and even if Vince were to perform at last year's output, the team would be much better than its current 4-5 record indicates.

Those who constantly call for Vince to be traded should be wary that it is almost a certainty that whichever team he is sent to will receive a liberated player who will surely outperform what his recent Raptor games have shown. This of course leads to the ridiculous claims by the same fans and critics that the Raptors should hold on to Carter unless offered a significant NBA superstar in return. It seems no one in Toronto thinks that Vince is a star anymore, unless of course it's time to talk trade, and that's when other teams should believe he is one so that Toronto can get a good player back in return for him. Fans and media will likely be disappointed at these latest rumours, as Abdur-Rahim is a steady scorer and rebounder, but not much else and certainly was not comparable to Vince when they both played in Canada years ago.

While I have been a much more ardent Carter supporter than most (including Wongoz), I have become resigned to the fact that Vince will likely be traded in the short future and the Raptors will most certainly not receive equal value for him. I've never understood the seeming thrill that media and fans alike in this city derive from turning so viciously on the stars who play here. Athletes such as Mats Sundin, Eddie Belfour, Carlos Delgado, and Carter are just as likely to be villified than praised, and the scorn directed toward Carter has reached all-time heights this season. While I do agree that the enormous salaries that athletes receive leads to increased scrutiny and criticism, I've always been amazed at how a city like Toronto can annoint a player a saviour, pay that player without understanding all the factors necessary to achieve a rarefied winning product, and then tear down that same player when things go wrong. Vince was the foundation upon which the Raptors were built, but the pieces put in place around him were lacking, and after a while, the foundation itself crumbled, tired of going through three coaches and numerous teammates in three years, tired of missing the playoffs, tired of being doubled on the perimeter and triple teamed every time he entered the paint, tired of taking constant contact without foul calls then being labelled as "soft" by his own fans and media, tired of reading about how he wasn't a true star while people continued to demand star performances.

Unfortunately now, the relationship between the Raptors and Vince most likely cannot be ressurrected, unless Carter shows more effort and leadership, and the fans and media give him a break. It turns out that for a number of reasons, Vince Carter is no longer the superstar that the world made him out to be, and Toronto will not have the chance to see if he can once again reach those former heights, unless they have a satellite dish to watch him play for his new club. If anything, the Carter saga should certainly serve as a cautionary tale to Lebron James and the new wave of young NBA stars, but perhaps Chris Bosh, should be the most attentive of anyone. With Carter gone, he will be thought of as the new building block, and time will tell how fast Toronto fans and media decide to tear him down.

Too scary to call...by Apollo

Before we get to the substance of this entry, I'll admit that apologies are in order to the Boston Red Sox who shattered all expectations, including those of most people in New England, even if they refuse to admit it, to come back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the New York Yankees and ultimately win the World Series with a 4-0 sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. With the exception of an offensive explosion in Game 1, St. Louis quietly whimpered out in four straight to cause viewers everywhere outside of the Eastern United States to tune out. I will give a big shout out to Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, who in a champagne soaked winners' clubhouse stated that he shared his World Series win with the fans of the Montreal Expos, the organization who brought him into the majors. Martinez, the Expos' only Cy Young award winner, was part of the 1994 club who had the best record in baseball prior to the work stoppage which wiped out the World Series that year. A classy move by Martinez which hopefully will not be forgotten now that the Expos have moved on. It should be noted however that my predictions on the Red Sox winning two games at home, as well as the demise of the Houston Astros and Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry were quite accurate.

The big news this week was the result of the 2004 elections in the United States, where this morning, Democrat candidate John Kerry conceeded the presidential race to incumbent George W. Bush, who will now carry the title of the "The most powerful man in the world" for another four years. Like most Americans in my opinion, I am not informed enough to comment exhaustively on the election and its issues, however Bush, who captured the majority of the popular vote by a large margin, hardly enjoyed a golden four years in his first term.

The debate on terrorism and Bush's war on Iraq aside, what I am having a hard time understanding is the fact that during his presidency, the American economy suffered. The country continues to run huge deficits and its debt is now so large that the common person cannot understand the implications. Bush's mandate will include increased spending for military objectives and it is unclear how exactly he will go about replacing the thousands of jobs that have been lost during his tenure. And yet, he was re-elected? I'm sure there's some logical explanation to all this and I admit that I am not completely informed, however generally, if a national economy is not good, change is usually immediate. A poor economy is one of the reasons that Arnold Schwarzenegger successfully became Governor of California. In Canada, any economic downturn on a provincial or national level usually brings with it an overwhelming change the next time the citizens go to the polls. The re-election of Bush is all the more surprising to me since Americans are supposedly more concerned with wealth and the economy than other countries, so a failing economy would seem to matter more to their capitalist population, but apparently not.

Bush's return to the White House does mark the end of the Washington Redskins' streak of correctly predicting the presidential race. An overstated and overused fact that emerged this past week was that the result of the Redskins' final home game before an election correctly predicted the last 16 presidential elections. When the Redskins won, the incumbent President returned for another term. When the Redskins lost, the incumbent also fell. In the wake of Sunday's heartbreaking loss by the Redskins to the Green Bay Packers in Washington, the trend called for Kerry to defeat the incumbent Bush. The streak of 16 correct predictions is now over, which will hopefully stop this obscure fact from ever being mentioned again.

A few other random sports thoughts this week:

1. Any athlete who feels they are resigned to sitting on the bench and not contributing for their team need only look to English striker Michael Owen for inspiration. Owen, who as a teenager burst onto the world scene with an incredible goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, transferred from Liverpool where he was the leading goal scorer and number one striker to star-studded Real Madrid where he quickly found himself stuck behind starters Raul and Ronaldo. Owen whined and complained a little bit, then kept training, distinguished himself for England in 2006 World Cup qualifying matches and following an injury to countryman David Beckham, found himself starting in a three-striker formation. Owen proceeded to score four goals in four matches, all Madrid victories, and resurrect what many had thought was a dying career. Potential bench time still faces Owen, particularly when Beckham returns and Real goes back to a two-striker formation, but for now he's contributing and his coaches know that he's still a prolific goal scorer. That's sports. Injuries happen. Seasons are long. Depth is essential to any team. A smart pro athlete does not complain about his lack of playing time, he instead makes sure that his rare appearances are memorable to the point that his team cannot help but include him in the starting lineup. Even if Owen's future is not in Spain, and with the frequency of roster changes in soccer, who knows where he'll be next year, he served notice to the world that he can still be a top flight striker when given the chance.

2. The National Hockey League (or is it No Hockey League) canceled its 2005 NHL All-Star Game today as a result of the ongoing player lockout. This move was met by sighs of relief from players who detest having to give up three days off during the season to play in a meaningless game, as well as puzzled expressions from Americans who said "The NHL has an All-Star Game?" This entire saga has become sad. With neither side looking to compromise beyond their last hardline positions, it appears that not only will this season be lost, but next year suddenly looks in jeopardy as well. I am convinced that sports media will begin ignoring NHL hockey completely, if they haven't already. For my part, I'll be taking in a Hamilton Bulldogs game in the near future as the top prospects from the Montreal Canadiens organization have been relegated to the minor leagues during the work stoppage.

3. Wongoz will return. Trust me. While this is not particularly sports related, watching out for his next infrequent post has become a pseudo-athletic event, requiring endurance of marathon-like proportions to sit through the lengthy delays.