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This past weekend, Michael Jordan celebrated his 50th birthday. Along with all the hoopla surrounding his birthday and his legacy, there was talk about the present and future of basketball. Among one of the many interviews in recent days, Jordan was asked who he thought which player was better: Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. His response simply was Kobe because he has 5 titles to LeBron’s 1.
Now I’m not a big fan of either Kobe or LeBron but I do find it interesting that Jordan uses championships as a measuring stick. Even more I found it interesting was LeBron’s response to Jordan’s comments. He mentioned about players like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing & Reggie Miller and how they are some of the greatest of all time. Those three players also have no rings but they are better than a Jud Buechler, who has 3 rings.
What’s my opinion? It’s hard to base who’s the greatest simply by titles. If that’s the case then Bill Russell is the greatest of all time (11 rings). I think that titles have to play a role to distinguish but it isn’t the only thing. I think that you have to take into account impact on and off the court. Yes it’s true that Karl Malone never won a ring but he is definitely one of the top power forwards in the history of the NBA.
This is definitely an opinion question and up for debate just as much as who’s better LeBron or Kobe. What say you?
Episode 13 of the Three and Out podcast is now online. In this episode, Frankie, Michael and Mike talk Pro Bowl & ways to fix it, preview the Super Bowl plus NHL and college basketball. They also answer the question “What is one of your favorite Super Bowl memories?”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: search 3 and Out Podcast
or
you can download and listen directly at: http://frankiecreelphoto.com/music/episode13.m4a
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Episode 12 of the Three and Out podcast is now online. In this episode, Frankie, Michael and Mike review Championship Sunday in the NFL, plus NBA and the pending sale and move of the Kings to Seattle, and college basketball. They also answer the question “Which All Star game is your favorite?”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: search 3 and Out Podcast
or
you can download and listen directly at: http://frankiecreelphoto.com/music/episode12.m4a
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @3andoutpodcast & to like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/ThreeandOutPodcast
Episode 11 of the Three and Out podcast is now online. In this episode, Frankie, Michael and Mike discuss Championship Sunday in the NFL plus NBA, NHL & the stories of Manti Te’o & Lance Armstrong. They also answer the question “Which Hall of Fame would you most want to visit?”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: search 3 and Out Podcast
or
you can download and listen directly at: http://frankiecreelphoto.com/music/episode11.m4a
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @3andoutpodcast & to like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/ThreeandOutPodcast
Episode 10 of the Three and Out podcast is now online. In this episode, Frankie and Michael (no Mike this week) discuss all football with review of Wild Card Weekend in the NFL and look ahead to the Divisional Round. They also answer the question “What are your sports superstitions?”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: search 3 and Out Podcast
or
you can download and listen directly at: http://frankiecreelphoto.com/music/episode10.m4a
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @3andoutpodcast & to like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/ThreeandOutPodcast
We are only nine days into the new year of 2013 and there is a lot of excitement going on with the Sports Landscape in the Pacific Northwest particularly in the city of Seattle. First, there’s the Seattle Seahawks. They got their first road playoff win since 1983 with their win in D.C. against the Redskins. They have probably the most dangerous team in the NFC that no one really wants to face. They have a potential Rookie of the Year candidate in Russell Wilson on offense and two on defense (Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner). They have a legit chance of getting to the Super Bowl. And this team is young and growing.
Then, today there was breaking news from Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports reporting that the Maloofs are selling the Sacramento Kings to a group led by Chris Hansen. Hansen is one of the key players in trying to get an NBA team back to Seattle & is wanting to build a new arena for that team.
The NBA back in Seattle. This is news I’ve been waiting to hear since 2008. As has been mentioned on the podcast and people who know me, I lived in Seattle for three years (from January 2005 to January 2008). I watched several Sonics games down in Key Arena. And I was there at the beginnings of what was documented in the documentary “Sonicsgate” where Clay Bennett and his group came in and took the Sonics away from Seattle and moved them to Oklahoma City (if you have never seen “Sonicsgate, search it on Youtube, the entire doc is on there). From that day forward, I lost all respect for NBA commissioner David Stern and I lost a lot of interest in the NBA. I even pulled for the Miami Heat in the Finals last year because I didn’t want Clay Bennett to have the championship.
So when I heard about what Chris Hansen wanted to do last year I got excited about the prospects of Seattle getting a team back. Then the news broke today. And I feel bad for the city of Sacramento and Kings fans. I liked the Kings in the early 2000s with Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Peja Stojakovic and others. Unfortunately, the Maloofs were in a lot of ways like Clay Bennett (and also former Sonics owner Howard Schultz), not great owners. They really didn’t need to be owners so it’s good that guys like Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer are going to be owners.
It’ll be great next season to see the green and gold again. Seattle has a great basketball tradition and it will be well represented again with the SuperSonics back on the court.
That’s not even mentioning the Sounders who are perennial contenders for the MLS Cup, the Washington Huskies, who will be moving back to the newly renovated Husky Stadium and should be in contention for the Pac-12 & even the Mariners (who are shortening their fences at Safeco).
It may be early to say that 2013 is the Year of Seattle. But if the first couple of weeks are any indication, it may not be that far off either…
-Michael
Episode 9 of the Three and Out podcast is now online. In this episode, Frankie, Michael and Mike discuss all football with Wild Card Weekend in the NFL plus the BCS National Championship game. They answer the question “What would you like to see from your sports teams in 2013?”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: search 3 and Out Podcast
or
you can download and listen directly at: http://frankiecreelphoto.com/music/episode9.m4a
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @3andoutpodcast & to like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/ThreeandOutPodcast
Happy Black Monday everyone!
The New Year brings about the fresh scent of hope. Teams that found themselves in the basement begin the process of determining what direction they want to take, and generally that means the removal of their head coach. Some of these individuals have been coaches for numerous seasons, others were barely cutting their teeth before being released. Like it or not, in the NFL, winning is everything. If you don’t win, and quickly, you can be assured your time will be up. Patience is not a virtue of most owners. The Monday after the season ends finds many coaches receiving phone calls to come in for a ‘meeting’ in which they will be told their services are no longer wanted.
After 14 seasons coaching the Eagles, Andy Reid was fired.
Norv Turner, Chan Gaily, Lovie Smith, Andy Reid, Ken Whisenhunt, Pat Shurmur, and Romeo Crennel were all fired on Monday. Now seven NFL teams will be looking for replacements. You read that correctly, seven. This of course does not even bring into play the various GMs and coordinators that were fired. It is house cleaning time and it isn’t even spring. And most likely the list above is going to grow before the draft even takes place (I’m looking at you Jim Schwartz).
Some of these individuals will be coaching again and fairly soon. But the question isn’t “Where will these men end up?” the real question should be “Is this is the right strategy for winning?” Is firing a coach always the best decision for the long term success of a team?
Yes, sometimes installing a new coach can mean instant success for a team. Do you remember what the 49ers were like before Jim Harbaugh? How about the Colts before the arrival of Chuck Pagano/Bruce Arians? A new coach, the right coach, can make a major difference in the direction of the team. But generally we find that teams install a new coach, the team flounders, the coach gets fired and another one is installed. This process can go on for years. How many head coaches have the Raiders chewed through recently? Success does not seem to be guaranteed even if your offensive/defense schemes got your teams to the Super Bowl in previous seasons (Tom Haley, Steve Spagnola for instance).
So then it isn’t always about who the next hot OC or DC may be. It isn’t about who is going to jump from the college ranks into the pros. The rash decisions by GMs and owners concerning who coaches their teams can set their organizations back for years. The question that has to be asked by every team is: Who or what gives us the best chance to create long term stability?
Chuck Noll was the catalyst of the Steelers dynasty in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
What do the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers have in common? These organizations have created an environment of stability that is unrivaled in the NFL (the Packers may join these two over the next 5 seasons).They do not give in to knee jerk reactions regardless of how loud and long the media or their fans may howl. If the team does not live up to expectations they do not fire everyone wearing a coaching hat. Part of this has to do with ownership of course, but it is also because of the men they have put into the head coaching position and how these teams view themselves. They know who they are and what they are trying to achieve. Strong ownership, coaches who have an in depth understanding of the game, and a system that allows them to develop talent even when that talent is taken late in the draft; these are the pillars of teams who are successful year after year. Do you think Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger were lucky picks? Do you think Bellichick and Noll/Cowher/Tomlin just fell into the laps of their respective teams?
Head coaching is the ace in the hole, however. Think of your favorite team. How many coaches has your team gone through in the last 40 seasons? The Steelers have had only 3 coaches in that time period. The Arizona Cardinals in that same time period? Eighteen different coaches. Bill Bellichick took over as the head coach of the Patriots in 2000. How many coaches have the Detroit Lions gone through since that time period? Seven. With each coaching change come a change in philosophy, an emphasis on different dynamics, and a desire for certain types of players and it can take time before a team finally begins to gel. Now imagine you’re making these major changes every few years. When that happens you get the Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins, Lions, Raiders, etc. As a fan it doesn’t give you much hope when your team begins the rebuilding process again because you know they haven’t been successful at it in the past. Picking the right man to coach your team is as important to a team as a HOF quarterback.
So then, who gives the teams who fired their coaches the best chance for long term stability and success? Would you want any of these fired coaches to join your team as head coach?
Discuss!
As we draw to the end of 2012, we can look back at the year that was in sports. There were a lot of great, dramatic and awesome moments. In no particular order, here are 5 moments that really stood out to me:
1) The Summer Olympics in London. Anytime the Olympics are involved, there are dramatic moments and highlights and this year was no exception. Some familiar names like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt & the US Men’s Basketball Team came back along with some new names and faces (Missy Franklin, the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team). For two weeks, there were a lot of great moments so I would say as a whole the games themselves were a top highlight
2)Perfection in Major League Baseball: There were 3 perfect games pitched in the MLB this season. That is the first time in history that had ever happened (for 2 perfect games in a season had only happened once before and that was in 2010). Seattle was on both ends of it as Philip Humber of the White Sox threw a no-hitter against them while Felix Hernandez threw one for the Mariners. The other? by Matt Cain of the eventual World Series Champs San Francisco Giants
3)The eventual push for a playoff in college football. It took a team that didn’t win its conference nor its own division in Alabama to do it but it finally happened. Sure it’s two years away and will only involve 4 teams but at least it’s something. It’s a definite start. And if the playoffs are in every single level of football, why not in division 1?
4) The 2012 QB Rookie class. This collection of quarterbacks is very impressive. From Andrew Luck to RGIII to Russell Wilson to even Ryan Tannehill & Brandon Weeden, they have come into the league on fire. If they keep it up, they could be on par with the 2004 QB class & the 1983 QB class.
5) Euro 2012. Yes soccer was a highlight of the year for me. Loved watching the games and glad for Poland that helped host the event. It made me excited for 2014 and the next World Cup
That’s five of my favorites. What’s yours?
-Michael
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