Suddenly the Sports Guy is an Idiot
Since I can't seem to find Bill Simmons' (ESPN.com's Sports Guy) email address on the ESPN website, I'll just post here instead.
Let me start by saying that about 90 percent of the time, I enjoy reading his articles. 90 percent of the time, I'm in agreement with what this Beantowner is saying. 90 percent of the time I think he's very smart and on the ball with his comments.
Then he writes about Reggie Miller.
Now obviously he's entitled to his opinion. And I'm entitled to think he's a fucking idiot.
He says Reggie Miller is not a superstar. He says Miller couldn't even guard him at this point. He says that the Pacers don't even stand a chance against the Celtics.
Miller can't even guard the Sports Guy, huh? Sounds like someone suddenly has an inflated view of himself. If Simmons could actually score on an NBA player, first off he should try someone that he can look over, like Earl Boykins (although Boykins would still keep him from scoring), and secondly if he could put points on the board, then I could think of a couple teams that would clamor to pick him up: the Hawks (cause no one scores on that team consistently), the Bobcats, and the Clips (regardless of their record, the Clips suck and always will suck, it is a law of the universe...much like Comcast will have poor customer service, the DMV will take 17 hours, and tornadoes will crush trailer parks).
As far as the Pacers not having a chance against the Celtics; what is it that just about every former NBA player says about a team decimated by injuries and yet still being competitive? Yeah, that those are the types of teams that are scary in the playoffs. Nothing to lose. The Pacers have had just about everything thrown at them (just ask the lushes with criminal records up in Detroit), and they became more of a team than ever before. Let's see Boston play most of their season without Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, and Gary Payton, and let's see what their record would have been, especially considering their record was only one game...ONE GAME...better than the Pacers. And the Celts played in the Atlantic Division! You remember the Atlantic this year? Teams were hovering around the .500 mark and were CONTENDERS for the Atlantic Title!!! Put the Pacers in that division and they'd be the 3 seed. I hope the Celtics have the same mindset that the Sports Guy has - the Pacers will win 3 of the next 4 if they do.
As a sidenote, I've never heard such excuses from a team that is supposed to be so much better than the Pacers. Oh the refs are giving them calls (like the one where two Celts ran into each other and they called a foul on the Pacers?), and Coach Doc Rivers just mismanaged the game (rule of thumb, never trust a guy named Doc). If I recall, the Sports Guy said that the Celtics had almost all the best players in this series. So even if Doc put the wrong guys on the floor, they should still be able to get the job done. The coach only can do so much, it's still up to the players to make the plays. If anyone had built in excuses, it's the Pacers: Artest out all year, O'Neal playing with one and a half arms, Miller on the verge of retirement, Stephen Jackson still not figuring out how to get it done for 4 quarters. But yet no one is hearing any excuses from the Pacer locker room, just from the locker room of the team that should win this series oh-so-easily. Gimme a break, and to coin my favorite phrase - Kwitcherbitchin (That's Quit Yer Bitchin for those not from Indiana).
Reggie isn't a superstar. Ok. I'll accept that if Simmons accepts that the Patriots aren't a dynasty. Last time I checked a dynasty has an unbroken streak of dominance. So have the Pats won 3 titles in a row? No. 3 in 4 years. Now Ming and Yuan, THOSE were dynasties. They didn't rule China for 40 years, take 10 years off, then rule again for 60 years. They ruled China consecutively for over 200 years and just shy of 100 years, respectively. But every Bostonian that follows the Patriots swears up and down that it's a dynasty. Nope. Not until they win 5 straight titles and run the Mongols out of Boston.
My point is this, everyone has their idea of what makes a superstar and what makes a dynasty. Reggie may not have all the stats necessary to convince the Sports Guy of his superstardom. But lemme put it this way. There is still an NBA franchise in Indianapolis. Back in the early eighties, they had to resort to conducting a TV telethon just to survive. The upper deck at MSA was curtained off. Then Miller arrived from UCLA. Playoff appearances in all but one year since 1990. Playoff victory for the first time in 1994. Multiple appearances in the East Finals. Without Reggie Miller, who knows what the future of the Pacer franchise would have been? Relocation? Folding? Maybe they would be just like the Clippers, or maybe just like the Celtics under Rick Pitino.
No, the Pacers don't have 16 NBA titles. If it takes an NBA title to solidify superstardom, then I guess Sir Charles needs to drop down to Reggie's level of non-superstar status.
What is all this getting at? I'll agree with Simmons that Reggie isn't a superstar. To the fans of the Pacers, the fans who have been fans since the 22-60, 26-56, 28-54 years, to real Pacer fans, Reggie is a Savior, a Toothpick Messiah, a Hollywood Holy Grail. I'd take Reggie Miller before any current Boston Celtic without a second thought.
When I was in 5th grade, I got to play a travel team game on the floor of MSA before a Pacers' game. I wore 31, because Miller was my idol. I got his autograph after our game and before their shootaround. I was wearing a Miller shirt over my jersey. He said "nice shirt," I said "I wear your number on my team too." He cocked his head and said "awesome, thank you." I've gotten his autograph at least 4 more times since then.
He may not have been a superstar all-around player. But I defy you to find me another NBA player who got more out of his body and talent than Reginald Wayne Miller got out of his 6' 7" 195 pound frame.
Thank you Reggie, for saving my franchise, for every 3-pointer, for every opponent's home crowd that you made groan with your clutch performances.
Thank you for being ours.
Let me start by saying that about 90 percent of the time, I enjoy reading his articles. 90 percent of the time, I'm in agreement with what this Beantowner is saying. 90 percent of the time I think he's very smart and on the ball with his comments.
Then he writes about Reggie Miller.
Now obviously he's entitled to his opinion. And I'm entitled to think he's a fucking idiot.
He says Reggie Miller is not a superstar. He says Miller couldn't even guard him at this point. He says that the Pacers don't even stand a chance against the Celtics.
Miller can't even guard the Sports Guy, huh? Sounds like someone suddenly has an inflated view of himself. If Simmons could actually score on an NBA player, first off he should try someone that he can look over, like Earl Boykins (although Boykins would still keep him from scoring), and secondly if he could put points on the board, then I could think of a couple teams that would clamor to pick him up: the Hawks (cause no one scores on that team consistently), the Bobcats, and the Clips (regardless of their record, the Clips suck and always will suck, it is a law of the universe...much like Comcast will have poor customer service, the DMV will take 17 hours, and tornadoes will crush trailer parks).
As far as the Pacers not having a chance against the Celtics; what is it that just about every former NBA player says about a team decimated by injuries and yet still being competitive? Yeah, that those are the types of teams that are scary in the playoffs. Nothing to lose. The Pacers have had just about everything thrown at them (just ask the lushes with criminal records up in Detroit), and they became more of a team than ever before. Let's see Boston play most of their season without Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, and Gary Payton, and let's see what their record would have been, especially considering their record was only one game...ONE GAME...better than the Pacers. And the Celts played in the Atlantic Division! You remember the Atlantic this year? Teams were hovering around the .500 mark and were CONTENDERS for the Atlantic Title!!! Put the Pacers in that division and they'd be the 3 seed. I hope the Celtics have the same mindset that the Sports Guy has - the Pacers will win 3 of the next 4 if they do.
As a sidenote, I've never heard such excuses from a team that is supposed to be so much better than the Pacers. Oh the refs are giving them calls (like the one where two Celts ran into each other and they called a foul on the Pacers?), and Coach Doc Rivers just mismanaged the game (rule of thumb, never trust a guy named Doc). If I recall, the Sports Guy said that the Celtics had almost all the best players in this series. So even if Doc put the wrong guys on the floor, they should still be able to get the job done. The coach only can do so much, it's still up to the players to make the plays. If anyone had built in excuses, it's the Pacers: Artest out all year, O'Neal playing with one and a half arms, Miller on the verge of retirement, Stephen Jackson still not figuring out how to get it done for 4 quarters. But yet no one is hearing any excuses from the Pacer locker room, just from the locker room of the team that should win this series oh-so-easily. Gimme a break, and to coin my favorite phrase - Kwitcherbitchin (That's Quit Yer Bitchin for those not from Indiana).
Reggie isn't a superstar. Ok. I'll accept that if Simmons accepts that the Patriots aren't a dynasty. Last time I checked a dynasty has an unbroken streak of dominance. So have the Pats won 3 titles in a row? No. 3 in 4 years. Now Ming and Yuan, THOSE were dynasties. They didn't rule China for 40 years, take 10 years off, then rule again for 60 years. They ruled China consecutively for over 200 years and just shy of 100 years, respectively. But every Bostonian that follows the Patriots swears up and down that it's a dynasty. Nope. Not until they win 5 straight titles and run the Mongols out of Boston.
My point is this, everyone has their idea of what makes a superstar and what makes a dynasty. Reggie may not have all the stats necessary to convince the Sports Guy of his superstardom. But lemme put it this way. There is still an NBA franchise in Indianapolis. Back in the early eighties, they had to resort to conducting a TV telethon just to survive. The upper deck at MSA was curtained off. Then Miller arrived from UCLA. Playoff appearances in all but one year since 1990. Playoff victory for the first time in 1994. Multiple appearances in the East Finals. Without Reggie Miller, who knows what the future of the Pacer franchise would have been? Relocation? Folding? Maybe they would be just like the Clippers, or maybe just like the Celtics under Rick Pitino.
No, the Pacers don't have 16 NBA titles. If it takes an NBA title to solidify superstardom, then I guess Sir Charles needs to drop down to Reggie's level of non-superstar status.
What is all this getting at? I'll agree with Simmons that Reggie isn't a superstar. To the fans of the Pacers, the fans who have been fans since the 22-60, 26-56, 28-54 years, to real Pacer fans, Reggie is a Savior, a Toothpick Messiah, a Hollywood Holy Grail. I'd take Reggie Miller before any current Boston Celtic without a second thought.
When I was in 5th grade, I got to play a travel team game on the floor of MSA before a Pacers' game. I wore 31, because Miller was my idol. I got his autograph after our game and before their shootaround. I was wearing a Miller shirt over my jersey. He said "nice shirt," I said "I wear your number on my team too." He cocked his head and said "awesome, thank you." I've gotten his autograph at least 4 more times since then.
He may not have been a superstar all-around player. But I defy you to find me another NBA player who got more out of his body and talent than Reginald Wayne Miller got out of his 6' 7" 195 pound frame.
Thank you Reggie, for saving my franchise, for every 3-pointer, for every opponent's home crowd that you made groan with your clutch performances.
Thank you for being ours.