email The Heinous Bastard

You know times are bad in the National Basketball League when a guy like Shaquille O' Neal can win the Most Valuable Player award. I don't mean to say that the guy isn't a huge presence in the game, he most certainly is. His team went on two huge winning streaks this year, and Shaq actually improved his free throw shooting percentage a couple of 100ths of a point to .524. In case you are not familiar with percentages, Shaq made a little more than one out of two free throws he attempted. Yes, that is correct. The MVP of the league made about 1 out of 2 shots from the foul line (where no one is guarding you). That is terrific. He is a total clutch player. He raised the ability of the no-names surrounding him such as Kobe Bryant (all-star), Ron Harper (former all-star), Glen Rice (all-star), and that coach Phil Jackson (6 NBA titles). If it hadn't been for Shaq, that group of pathetic players would have crumbled, especially under the tutelage of Phil Jackson. They will win the trophy this year, and they should because they have the most valuable player in the NBA. 

The question is, is he the most valuable to his team, or was he the best player in the league? You know what, it doesn't matter. The NBA is terrible, and SHAQ winning the top individual prize proves my point.

Onwards and upwards. Hockey playoffs are in full swing and again we have controversy. It happens every year, but this year is this year, so we will talk about realigning the playoff system in hockey. As it stands, there are 2 conferences that have three divisions each. In each conference, the winners of the divisions have the highest seeds in the playoffs. This year Colorado, Dallas and St. Louis held that honor in the Western Conference. St. Louis had the best record, they are the top seed. Dallas had the best record in their division, they have the 2nd seed. Colorado, third. However, in St. Louis division, the Detroit Red Wings finished second, and had a better overall record than the Stars and Avalanche. As the playoffs continued, Detroit ended up playing the Avalanche rather than a lower seed. People around the country have been asking the NHL to reconfigure the playoffs. They want the conference to be ranked at the end of the season, and the seeds be given out by the teams final record. This would eliminate teams like Detroit, who had a great season, playing Colorado who had a great season in the second round.

Again, the prospect of becoming a millionaire has struck college and high school basketball players. Although there are only about 60 draft picks each year in the NBA, hundreds of people declare themselves eligible for the draft. If they do this, and hire an agent, they are no longer eligible for college anymore. So many kids these days have agents and friends whispering in their ears that they will be high draft picks. Sadly, they are led astray and lose all that they had before.

On a slightly different note, the NCAA is proposing some major changes in the way they do business. There is a proposal that would eliminate the pure amateur clause for athletes in the works. What does this mean? It means that a player can be paid for services before coming to college as long as he isnt paid while in college. It also means, and keep up with me here, that a player can go to the NBA right out of high school, get paid, and go to college and play college ball if he chooses. The only stipulation is that for the amount of years you play pro, you lose that time in eligibility. So what they propose is that if Johnny wants to try the NBA he can. If after a year or two he decides he isn't ready, he can go play college ball, but he will only have two years of eligibility. Not a bad rule. It certainly would cut out on the money that these guys get under the table.

Well that is all I have for this week folks. I would like for you to send me your nomination for Hot Chick 2000, which is a special edition I will be running soon. just write down who you would vote for a the hottest chick out there right now, send it in, we will tally the votes and show you the winner

Have a good one...