If I made a mistake when posting this, I'm sorry.
http://www.cleveland.com/nba/plainde...350.xml&coll=2
NBA INSIDER
Commissioner is all ears when topic is court music
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
The smooth flow of Jay-Z and the head-bobbing beats of Kanye West blare throughout every NBA arena. The latest and loudest music is heard while teams are warming up and after the game's final buzzer. Music is even played at a high decibel during games and that's where some fans and even NBA Commissioner David Stern take issue.
In a recent ESPN online chat, Stern said he was no fan of teams blaring music or sound effects during games. An unidentified fan said there's something wrong with the league if the game cannot provide fans with all the entertainment they need without canned music. Stern agreed.
Sometime during the early 1980s, the NBA did not discourage arenas from playing music and using sound effects to help enhance the game for fans who had stayed away during the 1970s. The days of hearing the bouncing basketball and squeaking sounds from sneakers are gone but Stern hinted in the chat about a noise-free plan.
Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall cringes at the thought of playing without the sound of music.
"Players get hyped off the music," Mar shall said. "Basketball is not what it used to be. All arenas and stadiums play music. It's entertainment now and that's part of it."
Eric Snow has been in the league since the 1995-96 season and the music and sound effects have always been a part of his game.
"It's not something I have to have but it's something I enjoy," Snow said. "The music brings some excitement to the game."
But is it too much? Many believe the music goes overboard when it's blasted during key phases of the game, like when a team is behind late and they're trying to run a crucial play. The music has the potential to be distracting.
Not so says Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
"What music?" said Sloan, when asked if the music ever interferes when he is instructing his team. "I don't hear any music. I really don't. I'm concentrating too much on the game."
If Stern turns down the volume or tunes out the music completely, Marshall said it would be another move against the players.
"First you enforce a dress code and now you want to take away the music?" Marshall said. "It's already bad enough that you can't walk into the arena with headphones on. [The league] is trying to take everything away. They're trying to make it boring."
Good recovery:
Robert "Tractor" Traylor had successful surgery last month to repair an enlarged aortic valve that was discovered during a physical with the New Jersey Nets last summer.
The Cavs did not pick up the $1.76 million option on the last year of Traylor's contract. The results of the echocardiogram left Traylor out of work with a questionable NBA future. He had surgery on Nov. 8 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
"Everything went well with the surgery and I've started running and walking," Traylor says. "It was a serious operation but [my heart] was taken care of and it was a successful surgery. Everything has went well and I'm on target to play again by All-Star break. That's a good time to come back." Doctors discovered the condition following an echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of the heart. The echocardiogram is a test used to detect potentially fatal conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and Marfan's Syndrome, a condition that is believed to be found in tall, lanky individuals. This is the same exam that led to surgery for Lakers second-round pick Ronny Turiaf to repair his aortic valve and the same exam that led to surgery to repair the aortic valve of Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg.
Top dog:
Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups is a major reason the Pistons are off to such a great start. He's becoming one of the best point guards - offensively and defensively - in the game.
Against Sacramento, he had 28 points and a career-best 19 assists, while limiting Mike Bibby to 14 points and two assists. Against the Bulls, he only played 26 minutes, but still managed 15 points, eight assists and just one turnover. Against Charlotte last week, he won his battle with former Cavalier Brevin Knight, outscoring him 215, hitting 8 of 12 shots with 12 assists and two turnovers.
Over those three games, all Detroit wins, the Pistons won by an average of 21 points. Billups averaged 21.3 points, shooting 64 percent, with 39 assists and six turnovers.
"There are four things that are essential to point-guard play - controlling the tempo and flow of a game, making big shots, setting people up and playing defense," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said to reporters. "I don't know if there is anybody in the league right now who does all four of those things in combination as good as Chauncey does."
Big city of dreams:
All is not well in New York. Even though the transit strike is over, fans continue to take out their frustrations on the Knicks.
The Knicks ended a seven-game losing streak and a five-game home slide with a win over visiting Utah on Friday. The crowds have started to target Stephon Marbury. He's been showered with boos in recent games.
"I know I'm going to be to blame," Marbury said to the New York media. "I'm not worried about that. I mean, what is fair? A lot of people look at it, they see you making a lot of money, they don't think that that's fair. Some people feel like you deserve it [to be booed]." Marbury averages are down to 18.0 points (from 21.7 last season), 6.3 assists (from 8.1) and 44.3 percent shooting (from 46.2). Coach Larry Brown has defended Marbury. "I told him when he came to the bench it's not his fault," Brown told the media. "That's my responsibility. He's trying. He's tried hard for me and I remind him of that fact all the time."
http://www.cleveland.com/nba/plainde...350.xml&coll=2
NBA INSIDER
Commissioner is all ears when topic is court music
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
The smooth flow of Jay-Z and the head-bobbing beats of Kanye West blare throughout every NBA arena. The latest and loudest music is heard while teams are warming up and after the game's final buzzer. Music is even played at a high decibel during games and that's where some fans and even NBA Commissioner David Stern take issue.
In a recent ESPN online chat, Stern said he was no fan of teams blaring music or sound effects during games. An unidentified fan said there's something wrong with the league if the game cannot provide fans with all the entertainment they need without canned music. Stern agreed.
Sometime during the early 1980s, the NBA did not discourage arenas from playing music and using sound effects to help enhance the game for fans who had stayed away during the 1970s. The days of hearing the bouncing basketball and squeaking sounds from sneakers are gone but Stern hinted in the chat about a noise-free plan.
Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall cringes at the thought of playing without the sound of music.
"Players get hyped off the music," Mar shall said. "Basketball is not what it used to be. All arenas and stadiums play music. It's entertainment now and that's part of it."
Eric Snow has been in the league since the 1995-96 season and the music and sound effects have always been a part of his game.
"It's not something I have to have but it's something I enjoy," Snow said. "The music brings some excitement to the game."
But is it too much? Many believe the music goes overboard when it's blasted during key phases of the game, like when a team is behind late and they're trying to run a crucial play. The music has the potential to be distracting.
Not so says Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
"What music?" said Sloan, when asked if the music ever interferes when he is instructing his team. "I don't hear any music. I really don't. I'm concentrating too much on the game."
If Stern turns down the volume or tunes out the music completely, Marshall said it would be another move against the players.
"First you enforce a dress code and now you want to take away the music?" Marshall said. "It's already bad enough that you can't walk into the arena with headphones on. [The league] is trying to take everything away. They're trying to make it boring."
Good recovery:
Robert "Tractor" Traylor had successful surgery last month to repair an enlarged aortic valve that was discovered during a physical with the New Jersey Nets last summer.
The Cavs did not pick up the $1.76 million option on the last year of Traylor's contract. The results of the echocardiogram left Traylor out of work with a questionable NBA future. He had surgery on Nov. 8 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
"Everything went well with the surgery and I've started running and walking," Traylor says. "It was a serious operation but [my heart] was taken care of and it was a successful surgery. Everything has went well and I'm on target to play again by All-Star break. That's a good time to come back." Doctors discovered the condition following an echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of the heart. The echocardiogram is a test used to detect potentially fatal conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and Marfan's Syndrome, a condition that is believed to be found in tall, lanky individuals. This is the same exam that led to surgery for Lakers second-round pick Ronny Turiaf to repair his aortic valve and the same exam that led to surgery to repair the aortic valve of Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg.
Top dog:
Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups is a major reason the Pistons are off to such a great start. He's becoming one of the best point guards - offensively and defensively - in the game.
Against Sacramento, he had 28 points and a career-best 19 assists, while limiting Mike Bibby to 14 points and two assists. Against the Bulls, he only played 26 minutes, but still managed 15 points, eight assists and just one turnover. Against Charlotte last week, he won his battle with former Cavalier Brevin Knight, outscoring him 215, hitting 8 of 12 shots with 12 assists and two turnovers.
Over those three games, all Detroit wins, the Pistons won by an average of 21 points. Billups averaged 21.3 points, shooting 64 percent, with 39 assists and six turnovers.
"There are four things that are essential to point-guard play - controlling the tempo and flow of a game, making big shots, setting people up and playing defense," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said to reporters. "I don't know if there is anybody in the league right now who does all four of those things in combination as good as Chauncey does."
Big city of dreams:
All is not well in New York. Even though the transit strike is over, fans continue to take out their frustrations on the Knicks.
The Knicks ended a seven-game losing streak and a five-game home slide with a win over visiting Utah on Friday. The crowds have started to target Stephon Marbury. He's been showered with boos in recent games.
"I know I'm going to be to blame," Marbury said to the New York media. "I'm not worried about that. I mean, what is fair? A lot of people look at it, they see you making a lot of money, they don't think that that's fair. Some people feel like you deserve it [to be booed]." Marbury averages are down to 18.0 points (from 21.7 last season), 6.3 assists (from 8.1) and 44.3 percent shooting (from 46.2). Coach Larry Brown has defended Marbury. "I told him when he came to the bench it's not his fault," Brown told the media. "That's my responsibility. He's trying. He's tried hard for me and I remind him of that fact all the time."
Comment