This weekend I was talking to a very close friend about the Indiana Pacers. He was and still is very upset about the bad turns he believes the franchise has made. He, like many of you blames the Top Brass, because who else could be responsible. My friend is a member of a very prestigious basketball organization in the state of Indiana, one that I think, thinks to much of itself. The organization is very old school, like many of you on this messageboard. What really bothers me is that because of one or two of the Pacers top decision makers these “people or members of this prestigious organization” want to judge and dole out their own little bit of execution to the Pacer franchise, again much like you the average fans wants to do. This organization, like many others believes what it wants to believe, and makes it’s judgement’s according to the way “things” use to be in the day. “In the day”, meaning 30 years ago. To those in this organization that know whom I am talking about I can only say that your time has passed along with “old school basketball. Modern day basketball, which includes the now, not the past, but the now does not march to your beat and never will again. Your opinions for example had no effect what-so-ever for those high school principles in the state of Indiana that have effectively ruined a great, great High school basketball tournament.
What really disturbs me is that everyone has an opinion, but not a viable answer of what to do with the modern day pro athlete, specifically those in pro basketball. That brings me to the Indiana Pacers…..
I am not going to tell you what the Pacers have done the past four years have made them winners or the darlings of the NBA, but what I will tell you is that the Indiana Pacers do reflect, through no intentions of their own, society in itself. This is a problem in the whole NBA, not just the Pacer Franchise, a franchise which I must also point out is barely a .500 team.
The society and culture that 85% of the players in the NBA that tells you that Rappers & Hip hoppsters are cool and growing up have been role models for many of these young fatherless urban youths, for that matter our fatherless youth all together. How many of these “athletes” hang with or try to emulate these common dope smoking-gun toting fugitives, some of these guys have even tried to make the team in some of pro basketballs minor leagues….yeah that’s a positive sign right there….But knowing most of you, you’ll blame the front office of your local pro franchise because it's easier to do it the polictally correct way, when you darn well know they couldn’t baby-sit these grown adult tight enough. That’s what it’s come down to is a Big time babysitting service to keep grown men, who should already know better, from making a franchise look bad because of poor decisions. The sad thing is half of these guys don’t even think these are poor decisions…see Michael Vick, Ron Artest and Pacman Jones.
Old school to these guys means you didn't get paid!
Today it begins with the AAU teams, moves into the college ranks and then tops itself off in the pros where these guys are making so much money they can get away with, murder, rape, tax evasion and come back for a contract extension. This because of a Players Union that makes sure these guys are not punished too severely, a players union that ties the hands of any pro franchise top brass from doing what they know is the best thing for it’s franchise.
Yet even after reading that, everyone will still blame the franchise. They will still blame Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird. If it be known half of these people think that Bird and Walsh drove Stephen Jackson and Jamal Tinsley to Club Rio last fall, or were present when Tinsley and Daniels were at the eight second saloon. You want old school, well old school is dead this day and age. Welcome to the year 2007, where pro players have jerseys, basketball cards, shoes, video games and much more that you or your kids play or collect.
You want to blame someone….Blame yourself for making these guys the millionaire prima donnas that they have become and blame the NBA for becoming a watered down version of the WWE, complete with storylines.
Now I know some of you are going to come down on this post, and that’s cool…its your opinion…but before you blame anyone for the dysfunctional situation the Pacers appear to be in, before you blame the Pacers management for the players that are on the roster. Blame yourself for thinking that nothing has changed in the past 30 years, when if you were to open your eyes for the first time you might actually see what’s really going on.
In the long run when the Pacers start to creep 10 to 15 games above .500 everyone will be back on the bandwagon, some will even backtrack and say they're doing the right things. When the simple fact is that the PAcers are not going to change their operations. They are a business, and as in any business they're only conceren is with making money. They can only do that by putting a winning combination of players on the floor.
Thats the bottom line!
Because Stone Cold says so!
What really disturbs me is that everyone has an opinion, but not a viable answer of what to do with the modern day pro athlete, specifically those in pro basketball. That brings me to the Indiana Pacers…..
I am not going to tell you what the Pacers have done the past four years have made them winners or the darlings of the NBA, but what I will tell you is that the Indiana Pacers do reflect, through no intentions of their own, society in itself. This is a problem in the whole NBA, not just the Pacer Franchise, a franchise which I must also point out is barely a .500 team.
The society and culture that 85% of the players in the NBA that tells you that Rappers & Hip hoppsters are cool and growing up have been role models for many of these young fatherless urban youths, for that matter our fatherless youth all together. How many of these “athletes” hang with or try to emulate these common dope smoking-gun toting fugitives, some of these guys have even tried to make the team in some of pro basketballs minor leagues….yeah that’s a positive sign right there….But knowing most of you, you’ll blame the front office of your local pro franchise because it's easier to do it the polictally correct way, when you darn well know they couldn’t baby-sit these grown adult tight enough. That’s what it’s come down to is a Big time babysitting service to keep grown men, who should already know better, from making a franchise look bad because of poor decisions. The sad thing is half of these guys don’t even think these are poor decisions…see Michael Vick, Ron Artest and Pacman Jones.
Old school to these guys means you didn't get paid!
Today it begins with the AAU teams, moves into the college ranks and then tops itself off in the pros where these guys are making so much money they can get away with, murder, rape, tax evasion and come back for a contract extension. This because of a Players Union that makes sure these guys are not punished too severely, a players union that ties the hands of any pro franchise top brass from doing what they know is the best thing for it’s franchise.
Yet even after reading that, everyone will still blame the franchise. They will still blame Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird. If it be known half of these people think that Bird and Walsh drove Stephen Jackson and Jamal Tinsley to Club Rio last fall, or were present when Tinsley and Daniels were at the eight second saloon. You want old school, well old school is dead this day and age. Welcome to the year 2007, where pro players have jerseys, basketball cards, shoes, video games and much more that you or your kids play or collect.
You want to blame someone….Blame yourself for making these guys the millionaire prima donnas that they have become and blame the NBA for becoming a watered down version of the WWE, complete with storylines.
Now I know some of you are going to come down on this post, and that’s cool…its your opinion…but before you blame anyone for the dysfunctional situation the Pacers appear to be in, before you blame the Pacers management for the players that are on the roster. Blame yourself for thinking that nothing has changed in the past 30 years, when if you were to open your eyes for the first time you might actually see what’s really going on.
In the long run when the Pacers start to creep 10 to 15 games above .500 everyone will be back on the bandwagon, some will even backtrack and say they're doing the right things. When the simple fact is that the PAcers are not going to change their operations. They are a business, and as in any business they're only conceren is with making money. They can only do that by putting a winning combination of players on the floor.
Thats the bottom line!
Because Stone Cold says so!
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