NBA All Star Game is D.O.A.

Okay, enough is enough.  I knew this latest new NBA All-Star Game format was stillborn as soon as they announced it. Who the hell's responsible for these idiotic ideas? 

It's bad enough that TNT Sports horned their way into the act with the NBA allowing TNT's "Inside the NBA" hosts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Candace Parker to pick the players for the four teams named for them. But interrupting the first game to present them with going-away gifts (They're not retiring, they're moving to ESPN next year) as if crowning them as the highlight of the entire event was disheartening enough but whoever thought having Kevin Hart as the emcee was a hot idea owes the fans an explanation and an apology, if not his resignation. 

"Inside the NBA" is an extremely popular show, I get that.  But instead of making a bad product virtually toxic they could've devoted their own show for the cause or TNT could've run a special broadcast for it but no, the NBA gladly allowed TNT to stop their all-star game so they could all obnoxiously pat themselves on the back in the name of publicity, greed and sheer arrogance.

So, now what? Every year the league and network powers that be concoct a new format to improve on the previous year's in a pathetic attempt to convince the fans that they know what the fans want. However, they keep going further in reverse. Every time. In fact, plans for another format for next year is already being leaked but honestly, should anyone really give a damn anymore?

If they all were genuinely serious (and competent) about improving the NBA All-Star Game I'm happy to offer a few ideas (not that they care). First of all, go back to the game's roots. Return and maintain the East vs. West format because that will give the fans an automatic geographical rooting interest.

Then, call players and coaches alike and drive it into their collective heads that they need to take pride in their conference and play as if they care. I'm not saying to treat it with playoff intensity, just play it as a competitive basketball game, not a combination of a playground scrimmage and the Harlem Globetrotters. The message should be clear: "Show them what got you to this level. That's why you were voted in."

And then, perhaps, they could add a scrimmage during the events of the day before featuring all the acrobatics they can muster in two 15-minute halves.

Since its inception in 1951 the NBA All-Star Game has mostly been a high-scoring affair and that's was fine until it got out of hand the last 10 years leading up to the 2024 game's preposterous 211-186 score. There's nothing wrong with being fancy at times and having some fun but it should be in moderation, never the norm, especially when the fans are footing the bill.

NBA All-Star Game Changes

Why Is the Obvious Solution So Evasive?

Once again the NBA is re-re-re-I say, rearranging their All-Star Game's format in their latest attempt to make the game more entertaining for the fans and, as usual, they've missed again. The solution to that seemingly endless problem's right in front of their faces and yet they're completely blind to it. Well, there's convincing to be done and I'll gladly fire the first salvo.

In recent years, the NBA All-Star Game has de-evolved from an intense competitive contest to a ridiculously high-scoring mess. Defense goes right out the window along with the integrity of the game. The league's responses have been numerous format alterations, each one more confusing - and less interesting -  than the last. 

This one is absolutely absurd. I'll just say that naming the teams after TNT NBA analysts and naming those anylists "general managers" of those teams is an obnoxious way for the network to steal the spotlight away from the game solely for self-promotional purposes. I mean, how much Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith can one take? It's nauseating.

If you want the full details of this charade, click here. I dare you.

The problem is the players and NBA officials - most notably commissioner Adam Silver - have forgotten the whole point of an All-Star game. It's supposed to be about competition, not bells, whistles and media bullshit. It's East vs West and pride in your conference, not a "Can You Top This?" scrimmage. It's gotten boring. 

Other than changing the name to the All Showboat Game, the answer to avoiding games like last year's 211-186 farce (Who cares who won, right?) is the kind of painfully obvious solution that always seems to elude the powers that be:

                     Make. The. Game. Competitive.

Forget all the damn window dressing for what's become a deformed product. It hasn't worked because the very product itself - the game - is badly in need of repair. The All-Star game had no fan indifference years ago when the players cared about winning the game. That goal should be reinstilled into the thinking of players and coaches alike as well as those that organize it. 

There's nothing wrong with returning to a proven method. An exciting, competitive All-Star Game will undoubtedly draw more fan interest than the annual sideshow it's become.

A Possible Trade Target For the New York Rangers

Could the Rangers Deal For Pastrnak?

With all the trade rumors enveloping the New York Rangers, one name they should keep in mind as a potential trade target is Boston Bruins' superstar right winger David Pastrnak. How? Well, the situation the Bruins are now facing is actually worse than the Rangers' at his point. Just two years after a record shattering regular season Boston is struggling, big time. Two of their best players, their captain, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejcii have retired, they traded away Vezina-winning goalie Linus Ullmark, perennial All Star Brad Marchant is 36 and look every bit of it, they fired their coach, Jim Montgomery (who has since latched on with St. Louis) and the team's staring straight down the barrel of a major rebuild, which, in essence, has already begun as have, by no coincidence, the Pastrnak trade rumors. The Bruins are also in need of draft picks and prospects to help fortify that rebuild A.S.A.P. 

      

Now a player of Pastrnak's caliber doesn't come around very often so for the Rangers, any trade offer could likely be centered around prospects Brennan Othman, Bret Berard, veterans Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, and Mika Zibanejad as well as draft picks. Obviously, that's not certain but it could be a starting point for negotiations. 

A bigger issue for the Rangers is Pastrnak's massive contract. At age 28, he's currently on an 8-year deal worth $90 million with a cap hit of $11.25 million and it expires at the end of the 2030-31 season, which is a perfect ballpark for New York because it means Pastrnak won't be a free agent any time soon. But trying to shoehorn a contract of that magnitude into the Rangers' payroll without blasting over the league's team salary cap rule is going to require a great amount of creative and skillful work by Rangers' president and GM Chris Drury. And if such a scenario should come to light, with his exemplary track record nobody should doubt that Drury can get it done.

What Is It With Sports Media, Anyway?

                                     OR

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story"  ~ Mark Twain

Offseason trade rumors has generally been a fun topic to explore. But, as always, sensationalism, abject irresponsibility and industrial strength BS has virtually eclipsed actual facts, possibilities and reality and it gets worse every year. Unfortunately, the concept has been the main marketing strategy and sales/ratings hook for the media as a whole for generations. For example, remember this Chicago Daily Tribune moldy oldy about the results of Election Day in  1948?

                

And how about the New York Post's shameless 1978 attempt at drumming up newspaper sales?

                         

And they almost never apologize for deceiving the public, whether it was accidental or not. And if they actually were to admit their error they bury it in another section where it will most likely be overlooked. No accountability, not even an hint of guilt because they know it'll all blow over in a few days as long as they keep creating chaos.

There always someone (especially a young newcomer) who tries to make a name for himself through emotional, angry hysterics and making up or spreading fake rumors or creating controversy in an attempt to provoke an emotional reaction. And it works for them because, 1. Bad news outsells good news, and 2. That's how fans have been conditioned. Players refer to it as "stirring up shit" and, quite frankly, that's the perfect definition.

[I once heard an overnight sportsradio call-in rookie try to hook his listeners into calling  by claiming, very loudly, that in Major League Baseball, "Anything that happened before 1950 doesn't count!" The next sound my radio made was "Click!" I've never reached for the "off" switch so fast in my life. One of the dumbest things I've ever heard. - Ed.]

Anyway, the cases in point for this article are the constant trade rumors, proposals, fiction and runaway speculation surrounding New York Knicks' All-Star power forward Julius Randle and the New York Rangers' captain and leader, defenseman Jacob Trouba. 

[Because of his impending free agency, New York Mets' All-Star slugger Pete Alonso has had a "Trade him!" bullseye on his back all year until the Mets vaulted themselves back into contention. But now, even after the trade deadline, the media is still trying to worry Met fans by giving Alonso's undecided future top billing with multiple articles at a time in different publications as well as sports radio and TV shows. It's so aggravatingly typical.]

The fodder for this particular wave of media hype is player contracts and, along with an overdose of media science fiction, it targets those fans who just can't resist buying into all that smog. In Randle's case it's about a contract extension in which the Knicks have until October 21st to make a commitment either way. Meanwhile, the writers and radio hosts have floated countless unfounded rumors, questionable trade proposals and seriously poor excuses to Trade Randle.

               

Claims: He's an awkward fit now with four key members of the 2016 and 2018 Villanova NCAA champions now on the roster. Many of the local hacks propose trading Randle for a backup/starting center, a legitimate need they have had with the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency. Even with the Knicks re-signing Precious Achiuwa, a potential backup to starting center Mitchell Robinson, the media is still at it.

Facts: 1. Julius Randle knows Knicks' coach Tom Thibodeau's system and has excelled in it over his five years with the team. 2. Randle's one of the toughest and strongest players in the game and combined with his talents, it's an asset not easily replaceable. 3. Besides, if he's traded for a center, who's going to replace Randle as the starting power forward? None of the scribes have addressed that issue, have they? And it's by design. They have practically no interest in professionally examining the ramifications of such a move beforehand. Why should they bother with the dull truth when there are perfectly good rumors to be spread?

In July, Randle's teammate, superstar point guard Jalen Brunson, signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension to help the team avoid salary cap issues should the need arise to add another star player or two. If he'd played out his current contract instead he would've been eligible for a five-year, $269.1 million deal next year as an unrestricted free agent. Brunson sacrificed a lot of money to assist the team. It was a very rare move by a star player and it was met with raves from fans and consternation from some players who only work via the dollar $ign and have very little or no interest in the home team discount concept.

Julius Randle's extension may or may not pan out the same way, so the writers have taken it upon themselves to start churning out absurd rumors and trade proposals that demonstrate quite clearly that they'll never be management material in any field. Long/short, when it comes to prognosticating, the media knows virtually nothing because they conveniently bypass conventional wisdom until unavoidable facts come to light and spoils their fun.

Jacob Trouba's going through the same thing:

             

Claim: Despite the Rangers coming off an outstanding season, the sports "experts" say that the team needs another big-name scorer and the only way to accomplish this goal is to trade Trouba and his big contract which will carve $8 million off their payroll this year and increase the room they'd have under the NHL's ludicrous hard salary cap rules. The team also had some of their own players to re-sign so, seizing the opportunity, the local media took the low road, as always, and flooded the fans with incessant trade rumors (The Rangers are sending Trouba to this team or he was being offered to that team or he was going to be outright released), and generally without any real evidence, i.e., no authentic quotes from any member of Rangers' management. It's always "Unnamed sources" or "somebody familiar with the situation" - the terms often used to protect the the identity of their sources - but it's all too often used as a license to "stir up shit."

Fact: News bulletin, you guys. The Rangers had the best record in the league last season and Trouba was a big factor whether you know it or choose to ignore it in order to create a story to gain ratings/sales. The team fell short of winning the Stanley Cup but they don't need a scorer so badly that they have to trade their captain, team leader and inspiration in order to get one.

So why does the sports media play these games? Is it due to what's known in the business as a sloooow news day and they have space/airtime to fill? Is it a quota they're required to meet? Is it to get their jollies? Is it satisfaction? Is it ego? Fulfillment? Gratification? Mind games? Power? Sadism? Truth be told, it's a little (or a lot) of each. Or, as the great W.C. Fields once said, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

In recent years, the overall credibility of the Fourth Estate has taken a beating due to blatant sensationalism and they have nobody but themselves to blame (that is, if they actually give a damn long enough to blame anyone). And sports fans, in the guise of being uber-passionate, eat up all the gossip-style nonsense and sometimes even adopt the same attitudes and opinions that they may read and/or hear. In many cases, almost everything that sportswriters and sportsradio know-it-alls say or print are revered by their fans, whether true or not. The media knows this so why would they stop? Hey, it's America! Freedom of the press and all that. Okay, fine. But can't just a smidgen of ethics be dropped into the cauldron? It can't hoit.

For What It's Worth Dept. - Here's your bottom line: Providing a happy, or at least contented ending is not possible here because, unlike most media types, this writer refuses to insult his audience's intelligence by faking anything. It's a major league shame that the mainstream media operates under the same dollar $ign that the players do. Common sense, accountability, responsibility and the truth have virtually no lease in the newsroom and there are no plans to change the formula.

More's the pity.

The Mets Should NEVER Trade Pete Alonso

It’s the Tom Seaver Situation All Over Again

Back in 1977 the New York Mets were run by a stockbroker, the infamous M. Donald Grant, the board chairman and part team owner. A stubborn, old skinflint, Grant continuously refused to spend any money on free agents in 1976. When then-future Hall of Famer, the late Tom Seaver requested a contract re-negotiation, Grant refused, calling Seaver an ingrate and leading local sportswriter Dick Young to write several articles berating Seaver until Young brought Seaver’s wife Nancy into it. Seaver then demanded a trade and on June 15, 1977, in what became  known as “The Midnight Massacre,” Seaver was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for far below equal value. (Dave Kingman, their best slugger, was traded to San Diego for a similar low-end return.

Fast-forward to 2024 and it looks like it’s happening again although without the hostility and cheap ownership. Like Tom Seaver was as a pitcher, Pete Alonso is the best slugger in franchise history, has hit more home runs than anybody in baseball over his first five seasons, is a well-liked leader in the Mets’ clubhouse, a goldmine when it comes to community relations and has publicly stated that he wants to be a Met for his entire career.

So what’s the problem? Last year the Mets multi-billionaire owner Steve Cohen spent money to the tune of a record $350 million payroll (more or less, depending on what publication you read), delighting Met fans all over who were sick and tired of the Wilpon regime, which, ironically, resembled the Grant regime in their refusal to spend to keep the team a winner.

The 2023 Mets were a colossal failure and that appears to have shifted management’s direction completely away from spending in favor of several bright prospects, which, in and of itself, isn’t wrong at all. But the real concern is that Pete Alonso is due to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season and management doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to lock up Alonso for the rest if his career. There’s still plenty of time at this point to get a deal done.

Now here’s the part that’s eerily similar to the Tom Seaver situation. It started when two media types interjected their "opinions." Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Sal Licata of WFAN New York, in their endless effort in trying to make a name for themselves by being loud, negative and controversial (An infuriating method sports media types tend do to make up for their lack of ability in their field) by saying Pete Alonso was a “toxic” presence in the clubhouse with Nightengale adding unsubstantiated trade rumors. What’s worse, many sports media outlets jumped on the bandwagon because they want the notoriety of causing more worry among Mets fans as well as jockeying for the position of being the first responders in case a trade actually does happen   

Whether there’s fire where smoke is or not, the Mets shouldn’t even begin considering trading Alonso because, like Tom Seaver was, Pete Alonso is wildly popular in New York and respected all around baseball. 

The Mets better not make the same stupid mistake that M. Donald Grant did 47 years ago or else they’ll be facing a public relations catastrophe that even Steve Cohen can't afford.

Sign Alonso A.S.A.P.!