By the Dashboard Lights
by Dave Friedli
02/22/07
An All-Star Travesty
Move over, WWE Raw. The reign of professional rassling as the
biggest entertainment event posing as a true sport as certainly come
to an end.
One need only to see a few minutes of the National Basketball
Association All-Star basketball game Sunday night to have sufficient
proof that professional basketball is no longer about the game.
Pro hoops is about personalities, marketing, hype and entertainment.
It has lost any commitment to competition.
The final score alone bears witness to how far professional
basketball has fallen: West All-Stars 153, East All-Stars 132.
There is no doubting the fact that the success of the NBA league is
built on offense.
The rules have been adapted and modified to highlight scoring.
The 3-point line, man-to-man defenses dictated over game-slowing
zones, and street-ball examples of the three-step non-traveling call
are all examples of ways the league promotes high scoring and
personal highlights over the beauty of real sport.
But please, how about a little defense...DE-fense...DEE-FENSE!
At the high school and college level, the crowd loves to make that
cheer.
My three minutes of competitive basketball action in junior high
wouldn't have happened without defense.
I was and continue to be a poor basketball player who found another
winter sport to be involved in. But Coach Roger Huss' insistent
directives for me to "keep your head up, your butt down, arms out and
move, move, MOVE!" had nothing to do with shooting the ball.
It was about defense.
The NBA wants scoring, but it cheapens the game. Imagine the NFL Pro
Bowl where defensive backs stopped running and allowed wide-open
receivers to sprint down field, or linebackers who stood flat-footed
as running backs pounded through the line.
Or, what if professional baseball's all-stars routinely served up
batting-practice pitches and allowed fly balls to drop to increase
the number of base runners and increase scoring?
In any other sport, watching professionals give a half-hearted
effort would justify asking for a refund.
Presumably, the NBA game isn't exciting if Kobe Bryant or Lebron
James aren't scoring 25 points, making monster slam-dunks or blowing
past members of the other team who look more like ineffective traffic
cops, standing lock-kneed and waving their arms.
Professional basketball at the NBA level is a mockery of sport for
its lack of true competitiveness.
It may be entertaining, but it is not a sport.
Professional basketball got one call right in having this year's
all-star game played in
there.
Move over, World Wrestling Entertainment. You have company. Its name
is the NBA.