Saturday, February 16, 2008

Just A Waste of Time

"Time waits for no man. You MUST have a respect for time."-Coach Wells (circa 1991)

I'm not sure if that quote originally came from my old high school football coach. I understood what he meant. I hate being late to anything. I'd rather be 20 mins early than to be late. I don't waste time. Time is important. Time is not to be wasted.

Some things are a waste of time. For example, tonight's NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. It's not what it used to be. If I had to describe it right now, I'd say that it's horrible. What once was the highlight of All-Star Weekend, is now a shell of what it used to be. The slam dunk contest used to be an event when you had the brightest stars in the NBA compete for the crown. Now, it's a "show" between some lesser known dudes who seem to be stuck doing the same ole dunks. The contest has been revamped so much that there are now only 4 contestants. In its heyday, the dunk contest had 10 contestants.

There is no star power in the contest. The stars of the League like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, & Tracey McGrady have given way to dudes like Gerald Green, Rudy Gay, and Nate Robinson. In my opinion, there are no stars b/c there's not enough $$$ involved. When Jordan was winning the contests in the 80s, the grand prize was 15k. Now its 35k. That's not a lot of $$$ (relatively speaking) to a multi-millionaire. Instead of making the winning purse at 35k, let's make it a mil!

There's no more creativity in the dunks. If you've watched as much basketball as I have, you've probably seen every dunk known to man. After watching Jordan take off from the free throw line, I think we saw everything that there was to see. Maybe that's why Jordan stopped participating...the expectations became too high.

"Hey Jordan, can you take off from half court?"

I remember one year where a judge had to spin a wheel to select the dunk that each contestant was to perform. Huh? Where's the creativity in that?

The NBA should just kill the dunk contest. Actually, it should have been done a few yrs ago. I'm not going to watch it live. I'll have the DVR set to tape it and I'll watch it later. That way, I can cut all of the foolishness and commentary surrounding these dunks. Every year, there's at least ONE dunk that opens your eyes. And for that reason, it'll make me DVR it. Other than that, I'm not gonna waste my time.

Here are a few other things in sports that are a waste of time...

NFL- the Pro Bowl (aka All-Star game)

Baseball-the regular season. there are wayyyyy too many games (162). they need to trim it down

Winter Olympics-nuff said

4 comments:

  1. Ooooooooh here were go!!! I guess I’ll start at the beginning of your comments and work my way down.
    I totally agree with the quote from coach Wells. You should utilize your time wisely because it will move on with or without you. Before you know it you look up and you wonder where the years have gone.
    Sagittarians usually hate to be late. If we are not there on time call the Marines because something has happened or it could be that we are just caught up with some Aries that we love (my mom) that we just have to wait for. She is the only one I will wait indefinitely for, most everyone else gets 15 minutes and I out!!!
    NBA Slam Dunk contest – I agree it is not what it used to be, but I am a patient woman and that one spectacular dunk is worth the wait to me. I think the stars should be out of the dunk contest anyway. They get all the glory (deserving or not) all year round. The lesser known individuals should have a chance to shine without being in the shadows of the usual great ones. Not enough $$$, good golly how much more $$$ do they need???? They are already over paid for playing a game!!! They shouldn’t get paid anything for the dunk contest. It should be like street ball done for bragging rights, just to show your skill and creativity.
    Pro-Bowl, Winter Olympics and Baseball, why are you stepping on everyone else’s fun? Just because you don’t want to see it doesn’t there isn’t a fan base for it. Just turn the channel and leave my baseball alone =). Granted watching the game live is far better than on television but you can’t be everywhere at every game. The only thing I would change about baseball is the league team rotation. I would like to see other leagues (Yankees etc) at Turner Field.
    www.deliveringonthepromise.com/rcvmoore

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  2. ms. moore
    you are funny.

    Here's my take. I watched the slam dunk contest last night. I said that I wouldn't...but I did...and I'm glad that I did. I was very impressed. The creativity was there. Who would ever think about blowing out a candle on your way to dunking the ball? Very creative. I still think that the format needs to be changed. I'd like to see more participants. Preferably some of the stars who can participate. I don't think a guy like Vince Carter doesn't want to be shown up by a lesser known like Gerald Green. I'm not gonna believe the hype when I hear people like Magic Johnson say..."the dunk contest is back." Well, they've been saying that for the last 4 or 5 years. LOL

    Overpaid? I don't think these guys are overpaid. They are compensated well for their talents and skills but I would never say that they are overpaid. If anything, they are underpaid. But money does talk for them, too. Why do something for 35k? They'd line up to be in it if the prize was a million or better.

    I'm not stepping on the other sports. These contests just suck to me. LOL

    btw...no Yankees at Turner Field this year. The Braves go to NY to play them.

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  3. Great Slam Dunk contest. The superman killed it. Even if he didn't actually dunk it.

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  4. Brad
    I agree. The Superman dunk that Dwight Howard did was unreal. People forget that this dude is nearly 7 ft tall. He's very athletic. I was very impressed with the contest. I still think that it needs to be changed if they are going to continue to do it. If they throw more money into the pot, you'll see more dudes who'll want to participate.

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