OT:Who's the Worst NBA "Insider"

[MaxwellSmart]

Insider or commentator....Personally, I think it's Rick Bucher...this guy had the Celtics coming in 3rd in the Atlantic (behind NJ and Toronto) and 6th in the Eastern Conference in his pre-season predictions--not to mention Kobe apparently was NEVER gonna suit up for the Lakers again....How does this guy even have a job in the NBA? He is wrong about 90% of the time.

Bill Walton was a great Celtic,but he flip flops everyday on everything....

S.A.Smith finally believes in Danny Ainge,even though he has been a "Horrible GM" for five years (guess he lucked into getting KG and Ray Allen).

[aSizzLe]

Other: Celtic Thug

[Jimmy103]

Other: Celtic Thug

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BRAVO! COMMENT OF THE YEAR!

[Joebiscuit]

Other: Celtic Thug

Yup. He is a complete joke and I was a moron for believe him.

[Scalamental]

I'd say a tie between Celtic Thug and Chad Ford.

[LarryLegend]

How anyone can vote for anyone other than Screamin' A. is beyond me.

[chakdaddy]

Clearly, Peter Vescey, and that Chicago guy (Sam Smith? is that his name?)

Real big market shills speculating on the Knicks and Bulls constantly getting something for nothing in trade; although Vescey is hardly limited to NY in his idiocy.

[shackles10]

Yes, Sam Smith by far. As far as national guys go I like Walton, Bucher is often wrong but I don't dislike him as a tv personality, but I don't care for SAS at all.

[EvadedHavoc]

Other: Celtic Thug

Right on the money

[canman1971]

Bucher by far. Celtic Thug isn't an insider and I thought we have moved on from that. I don't consider Walton an insider.

[DelMonte West]

(Points to sig again)

Screamin' A. gets the distinction, if for no other reason than sending a shout out to Zeke on draft night and giving him his props but saying he could spend the entire broadcast bashing Ainge. Pretty peculiar. Which brings me to my next point:

I hope this doesn't result in anal-retentive PC squabbling, but has Stephen A. ever called out a black player/GM/coach? When the T.O./McNabb feud was in full swing in Philly, Smith blamed Owens' agent (Drew Rosenhaus). When the Sixers failed to accomplish anything meaningful with the Iverson/Webber combo, he blamed O'Brien. When Isiah had just come out on the losing side of his sexual harrassment case, Dolan was somehow responsible for the whole fiasco. When Kobe was making a complete fool of himself during the offseason and into the early regular season, it was all becasue of management, not because Bryant was completely out of line. Even when the Stephon/Isiah feud was in full swing, he wouldn't concede on what a cluster(fudge) the Knicks had become until Walton basically painted him into a corner, and even THEN he was reluctant.

During one of our nationally-televised games against the Lakers a couple years ago (a win that saw us receive kudos from Legler and Anthony), Anthony, Legler, and Saunders speculated that we'd be better off with Raef in the lineup instead of Scalabrine (keep in mind that this was Scal's first season with us, when he was hoisting up 10 FGs on any given night). Smith blew it all off, insinuating it didn't matter which of the two played.

There's a bunch of other examples I could use, but I'm just wondering if I'm the only one that's ever picked up on it. I've always wondered why he replaced David Aldridge on ESPN; I'm thinking it has something to do with the David Robinson vs. Allen Iverson scenario laid out in the book I'm currently reading (Souled Out, which has been an excellent read). I hope I'm wrong on that train of thought but it wouldn't surprise me.

[darrendaye]

Vecsey, while he may be more accurate than some, wins for me hands down. The guy is the very definition of a leech. It's painful for me to watch the guy on NBAtv berating the hosts, constantly talking over whomever is seated alongside him on the pannel, and exuding, to me, the most smug and arrogant demeanor among all of these insiders. I sympathize with his coworkers on NBAtv as I have to believe the network caters to him for fear of losing the edge an insider provides. I hope for their sake they can find a replacement, in time, who is less of a jerk.

Keep in mind I've never met him and am basing this opinion strictly on how he portrays himself in the media.

[BrokenLeftyJumper]

I'm currently reading (Souled Out, which has been an excellent read).

What's that all about? Sounds good. Fill us in.

I think your right about SAS' tendency to give certain black coaches/GMs/players a free pass, while he blasts guys like Ainge to holy hell. (though he does have a special hatred reserved for Kwame Brown) Does race play a factor? Certainly, because flip-flop Ainge and Isiah and I think you would see entirely different reactions from SAS. But SAS entire role is to be a blithering idiot screaming and yelling and what not because ESPN thinks this somehow appeals to black people, when it really doesn't appeal to anyone anywhere. And on the other hand, I think you see plenty going the other way at ESPN. Try watching any college basketball game on ESPN, the announcers always seem to have some special love in their heart for the white players. I'm always struck by how players who look like Greg Paulus get medals of honor from announcers for making "smart, heady plays" or "showing great intangibles or leadership" or something of the sort. You know they always "know how to play the game the right way." I hear basketball announcers on ESPN say that all the time when it comes to white players, and I have to believe if that player had cornrows and a few tattoos, the announcer wouldn't be making those comments even if the player played the exact same type of game. I think the announcers "smart, heady, hustle play" radar immediately goes on when a scrappy white guy is on the court, so they are just waiting to heap the praise for a hustle play. Yet when it's the other way around, the hustle play is treated like just another play.

[canman1971]

I also don't consider SAS an insider. He is a guy who yells a lot and that is about it.

[DelMonte West]

I'm currently reading (Souled Out, which has been an excellent read).

What's that all about? Sounds good. Fill us in.

I think your right about SAS' tendency to give certain black coaches/GMs/players a free pass, while he blasts guys like Ainge to holy hell. (though he does have a special hatred reserved for Kwame Brown) Does race play a factor? Certainly, because flip-flop Ainge and Isiah and I think you would see entirely different reactions from SAS. But SAS entire role is to be a blithering idiot screaming and yelling and what not because ESPN thinks this somehow appeals to black people, when it really doesn't appeal to anyone anywhere. And on the other hand, I think you see plenty going the other way at ESPN. Try watching any college basketball game on ESPN, the announcers always seem to have some special love in their heart for the white players. I'm always struck by how players who look like Greg Paulus get medals of honor from announcers for making "smart, heady plays" or "showing great intangibles or leadership" or something of the sort. You know they always "know how to play the game the right way." I hear basketball announcers on ESPN say that all the time when it comes to white players, and I have to believe if that player had cornrows and a few tattoos, the announcer wouldn't be making those comments even if the player played the exact same type of game. I think the announcers "smart, heady, hustle play" radar immediately goes on when a scrappy white guy is on the court, so they are just waiting to heap the praise for a hustle play. Yet when it's the other way around, the hustle play is treated like just another play.

I absolutely agree with your observation on the college game based on the (limited) number of games I've seen, although I only started watching NCAA ball last year because of you-know-what...heh.

I just started reading Souled Out late last night so I've only started the second chapter. It's written by Shaun Powell, who's one of the most prominent sports columnists (black or otherwise) in the country. I happened upon it at an endcap in Barnes & Noble, read a few pages, and was instantly hooked.

It focuses on some of the perceptions about black athletes in the media; whether they're fabricated, justified, etc. In the first chapter it talks about how many black athletes (not all) feel a sense of entitlement in acting the way they do (focusing on Darius Miles calling Maurice Cheeks a very bad word) and compares the landmark event of the 1968 Olympics (with Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists at the podium) to recent events. It talks about the two seemingly polar sides of the culture black athletes fall into: the David Robinson/Donovan McNabb compared to the Allen Iverson/Terrell Owens side, for lack of a better description. Powell also uses Charles Barkley as an example of someone who used to embrace rebellion and is now speaking out on issues that he never would have considered earlier on.

So far, he's also used the melee that happened at the Palace, talking about it as an incident that (fortunately) wasn't embraced by consumers for Artest showing street cred as opposed to when Kobe's jersey sales spiked after the Colorado incident. The David Robinson/Allen Iverson case I was talking about as an analogy of the David Aldridge/Stephen A. Smith case was brought about as a topic that's delved into in the first chapter as well. Basically, in the mid-90s, Nike endorsed Robinson, but David wanted creative control in his advertisements, which resulted in ads which contained positive messages (anti-drugs) aimed at their target audience. Reebok, meanwhile, went with the newly-cornrowed Iverson, who had well-documented scraps with the law, coaches, and was raised by a 15-year-old mother. It talks about how Robinson was an athlete with zero street cred, while Iverson's gear sold like hot cakes (and still does).

From what I've gathered so far, the "Souled Out" refers primarily to the self-defeating cycle of black athletes, who feel the need to rebel against a force that, while still prominent in some (but not all) situations, pales in comparison to what black athletes in earlier times dealt with (and handled, on the whole, with much more class). It also talks about double-standards (such as the ones you pointed out) and preconceived notions about "natural" and "superior" athleticism from blacks AND whites and how it relates to participation from youth and vice-versa, albeit later on. With the exception of that last sentence, everything else I've covered is written about in the first chapter. As you can see, it has a broad range of topics to read about.

I CANNOT recommend this book enough based on what I've read so far. It's the type of book you finish in a few days; very well-written, lots of familiar names, great history. It's only available in HC but that might change in the near future (it was just finished in '07), since it came before such incidents as the Micheal Vick, Marion Jones, and Barry Bonds scandals fully blossomed. I'd expect another chapter based off those events to come when it goes to SC, but at the very least look into it. Great reading.

[UGA Hayes]

NBA guys that I like I would say are Greg Anthony (especially) and Tim Legler. They both are relegated to the fringes of ESPN b/c they weren't big enough name players, but whether I agree with them or not they both give thoughtful, insightful opinions. Also b/c of their jobs I know for a fact that they are actually watching a ton of games to inform their opinion.

What drives me nuts more than anything are guys who get to give their opinions even if they clearly aren't watching.

[alwayslovetheceltics]

DAVID THORPE SAID THIS YEAR'S CELTICS WERE NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. READ AGAIN, THEN VOTE!!!!!


sorry for the caps, but i had to scream this one

[UGA Hayes]

LOL, I forgot about that. He has a real conflict of interest working for ESPN since some of those guys are his client and I think in the past he has let the relationships b/t his clients and their organization color what he says. Either way he is a complete tool.

[Prophet_C]

David Thorpe.

His chats are not insightful at all.

[Dirty Water]

Chad Fraud