Pierce Triggers NFL Tape Reviews for Gang Signs

Here at the Bear Down we have talked a couple of times about the state of the NFL and how there is an ever increasing number of players who are getting in trouble off the field. Well the NFL is now wondering if it has a lot to do with your background, or more specifically in this case, gang affiliation. Dom and I have had conversations about why there shouldn’t be a team in Las Vegas and about the added temptations that come with placing an 18 year old millionaire in a city that can so easily break you. With recent shootings and deaths around the league the problem has become an epidemic. Well now it looks like the NFL will be looking into the background aspect of these problems by hiring experts to review game tapes in search of gang signs or gestures. This is nearly a direct result of Paul Pierce’s $25,000 fine after an April game against the Hawks. The fine came from what the NBA deemed as a “menacing gesture”.

Watch it here:



With the rise of these problems the NFL has decided that they need to look further into these kinds of incidents within their own league. Apparently as part of the packet given to all rookies the NFL has been including anti-gang information and policies. When speaking on the notion of gang signs being displayed by fans Mike Pereia the NFL’s VP of Officiating said

We were always suspicious that might be happening…But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined … that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it. (From Yahoo)

From the players point of view Marcellus Wiley told the LA Times

A lot of guys when they get into the league, they aren't actually throwing up gang signs as if they're still active gang members, or were ever gang members but it's just like Reggie Bush wearing [the area code] 619 under his eyes. It's just kind of to symbolize where you came from.

The irony is often the athlete flashing the sign was allowed an opportunity to make it as far as we could without being approached by that lifestyle, that violence, all the stuff that went on in the neighborhood.

We were given an access pass to get beyond those things. And then we get to the NFL and we want to be tough. We want to get to the NFL or NBA and we want to be hard, get tattoos everywhere, throw up gang signs. . . . And those guys know that. You don't live that lifestyle and graduate out of it.

Where I'm from you're not the one that wants to throw up a gang sign if you're in that neighborhood. Now, in front of millions of people on TV in the middle of the 50-yard line, who's going to attack you? Who's going to do something to you?

But you do that on Slauson and Crenshaw and see what happens.

This could be the case for most players and reason enough for the NFL to review tapes, especially after the Darrent Williams incident in which he was killed in a drive by shooting. A shooting that occurred after a nightclub incident in Denver with known gang members. It is another tragic athlete and rags to riches story, but at some point these players need to take note. They need to put their pride aside, realize what they do and who they are and stay away from these sorts of situations. Easier said then done, but maybe a few fines will save a couple these guys from getting in off field trouble.


4Real Out….
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Denver To Send Melo to The Nets?

The Denver Nuggets are reportedly in talks with the New Jersey Nets that includes one of the premiere players in the league. The rumored deal is that Denver will send Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby to the New Jersey for Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, and the soul of retired* Keith Van Horn. How does this all fit, and what is Denver getting themselves into. They Nets have the #10 pick in the upcoming draft while the Nuggets sit at #20. Early speculations said the deal may have been a lot different had the Nets landed a Top 5 pick. Looking at this there are a couple key things to keep in mind: First look at the stats.

Carmelo Anthony: SF Age 23
2008: 36.4 Min, 49% FG, 35% 3PT, 78% FT, 7.4 Rebounds, 3.4 Asts, 25.7 PTS
Marcus Camby: C Age 34
2008: 34.9 Min, 45% FG, 70.8% FT, 13.1 Rebounds, 3.6 BLKS, 3 Asts, 9.1 PTS

Richard Jefferson: SF Age 27
2008: 39.0 Min, 46.6%FG, 79.8% FT, 4.2 Rebounds, 3.1 Asts, 22.6 PTS
Marcus Williams: PG Age 22
2008: 16.2 Min, 37.9% FG, 78.7% FT, 1.9 Rebounds, 2.6 Asts, 5.9 PTS

Take those for what you will. The obvious is that everyone realizes that Carmelo Anthony is a superstar, but he is also a very young superstar. It is not a ridiculous argument that he could be considered in the Top 10 or 15 players in the NBA right now. I have love for Wildcat Jefferson, and he is a guy I would love to have on my team, but it is all about how they are going to fit into the squad. As far as Williams and Camby are concerned you are trading an aging Center for a young and inexperienced back up point guard. Granted the Nuggets won 50 games this year, which apparently is not good enough these days in the West, but there has always been the tension of two superstars on a single team. I feel as though Jefferson will fit in well with Allen Iverson, and would make up for the scoring that you would be missing without Melo there. On the other side of the trade you are sending Melo to another two superstar situation where Vince Carter does not have the track record of sharing the spotlight. We all know he tanked games to get out of Toronto/ Add a player like Carmelo who in my opinion has a similar ego/attitude and I think that could cause some huge problems for the Nets. Now I may be way off here, but let me know who you think is getting the better end of this deal if it goes through?

4Real Out…
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NBA MVP Thoughts

The race for the MVP this year may be as insane as the race in the West. The general consensus is that Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Lebron James are the big four in the race.

From My Perspective I think that what is likely (Not what I believe it should be) is that the order goes like this:

1. Kobe Bryant: Lakers 45-19 (Currently 1st in West)
2. Lebron James: Cavaliers: 37-27 (Currently 4th East)
3. Kevin Garnett: Celtics: 50-12 (1st in the East, Best Record in NBA)
4. Chris Paul: Hornets: 42-20 (5th in West)

The problems:
With Kobe is that, well he is Kobe. Yeah he shoots too much, he is controversial, he isn’t the poster child of superstars anymore, but he plays for the Lakers and look where he has taken his team. Holding Garnett back? He is part of a three headed monster, and I don’t think there can be enough credit given to him singularly to deemed the most valuable player. Chris Paul? He plays in New Orleans, he is somewhat emerging as the premier point guard in the league, and his name is not attached to enough prestige to give him the credit he deserves. I think he should be in the top two of consideration considering his 21.3 points, 11 assists, and 2.7 steals a game.

Now for my homer critique of Lebron. I think without a doubt that he is the best player in the NBA. I think he has done more with less than anyone in this league. The fact that he led the Cavaliers to the Finals is enough to show that he is the Most Valuable Player in the game. The problem with his run at the honor is the fact that he plays in Cleveland, where he has had no big name help. Add to that the fact that the media is waiting for him to be the best player ever but not recognizing his team as great. With the new additions there still isn’t a lot of credit going to the organization for making moves to help the future.

Some Interesting Facts:
1. Lebron chalked up his 17th Triple Double Two nights ago against Portland. He has now tied Scottie Pippen and Bill Russell on this list of Career Triple Doubles (21st). It took Pippen 1178 games, Russell 963, but Lebron only needed 374.

2. Since Lebron entered the League he has led the Cavs in points, rebounds, and assists 46 times. Since that time the only player to lead all three categories for their team more often is Kevin Garnett with 63.

I’m not saying this is Lebron’s year. I think that last year he had a more legitimate argument for contention. The bottom line: Be considered the most dominant team in the East by the Media to claim it ,or win a Championship and get one the next year.

4Real Out...
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What does a man have to do to get fired these days?

The New York Knicks are 6-13 this season. They dropped two in a row to the now 7-13 Sixers. They finished last season at 33-49. The years before? 23-59, 33-49, and they slid into the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference 4 years ago with a 39-43 record, Isiah Thomas’ first season in charge. In June of 2006 Thomas placed himself behind the bench and team owner said that Thomas needed to show “evident progress” or he’d be out of a job. In December of 2006 the former bad sport, leader of the Pistons Bad Boys who walked off the floor pouting after being swept by Da Bulls in the 1991 Playoffs, watched his team start a vicious brawl with the Denver Nuggets after allegedly being told by Thomas to commit hard fouls. Apparently in March of last year that fight and alleged involvement, coupled with the 33-49 record, was enough progress to garner a multi-year extension. The Knicks did not make the playoffs. Thomas throughout the years, despite being consistently among the worst records in the league, have continued to acquire high (over) paid players like Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis and continue to be amongst the highest payrolls in the league.

Look at Zeke’s track record. He was accused of giving tickets to NCAA players to Raptors games when he was in Toronto. He bought the CBA in 1998 and it folded in 2000, amongst outcry by former team officials in that league stating he was single-handedly responsible for the failure of the league, he refused to pay them their last paycheck. He took the Indiana Pacers who had been in the NBA Finals the year prior to him taking over to back to back first round losses in the ‘00-’01 and ’01-’02 seasons. In his third year there he led the Pacers to the #3 seed and with a lot of talent including Al Harrington and Reggie Miller, they were bounced in the first round again to the Celtics. Then he landed in an even higher-profile job and immediately traded away handfuls of draft picks for no equal value and signed Jerome James (who?) to a 5 year $30 Mill contract. If you look him up on ESPN.com that smile is simply because he knows he got over on everyone, specifically Zeke. His numbers since joining the Knickerbockers: 85 Games, 20 Starts, 675 Minutes. .1 Steals/Game, .4 Blocks/Game, .9 Turnovers/Game, 1.6 Boards/Game, .2 Assists/Game, and 2.5 Points/Game in an astounding 8 Minutes/Game. You’d be smiling too if you worked just over 11 hours in 2 years and had made $10 Mill+. Good Free Agent pick-up Isiah. Oh and most recently he was involved in and found guilty in a Sexual-Harassment Lawsuit, costing James Dolan and MSG 11.6 Millions Dollars.

So what does Dolan have to say about Zeke’s job after the back to back losses to the Sixers, the worst loss in recent NBA history (45 points to the Celtics), and crowd chants of “Fire Isiah”? Recent reports from the New York Times have Madison Square Garden officials saying that, “Jim is behind Isiah”. After hearing this Zeke let us in on this little gem, “I think we understand where we are and what we're trying to accomplish. And again, for us it's really about just trying to keep everything in perspective in terms of where we are in the league, where we're trying to go in the league.” It appears that where you’re trying to go is into the depths of the NBA, which is fine with me, but just as a common sense question, what the hell pictures/e-mails/text messages does Isiah have of Dolan doing? Blackmail is the only feasible explanation as to why Zeke still has a job. Of course if he does get fired I’m sure there is another team looking for an easy excuse for failure. His entire playing career was marred by controversies (1985 All-Star game, 1991 Easter Conference playoffs, 1992 Dream Team snub and ensuing feud between himself and John Stockton and Karl Malone, and his umpteen year feud with Michael Jordan) why would people honestly think that this would change once he got into the front offices and behind the bench.
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Today's Top Stories

Marc Crawford not informed Slap Shot was fictional, put a bounty out on Scott Moore.
Marc Crawford, current LA Kings coach, former Canucks coach is being implicated in one of the dirtiest hits in NHL history, and it was all done from the bench. Multiple reports came out in the last 24 hours citing recent court documents that stated Crawford was behind Bertuzzi’s career-ending attack on Scott Moore a few years ago. Reports state that the attack was pre-meditated and was called for while in the locker room as retaliation from an earlier shot delivered by Moore to Markus Naslund, the Canuck captain earlier that season in February. After ordering the hit Bertuzzi attacked Moore from behind breaking 3 vertebrae in his spine and ending his career. The recent reports are part of sworn testimony by Bertuzzi while being investigated in the $38 Million dollar lawsuit being put together by Moore’s attorney.

The NBA playoffs get off to a great start in 2007-2008 campaign.
NBA officials must have realized that 82 games is a long time and decided to showcase some quality match-ups much earlier in the season than usual. This coupled with increased quality and intensity of play might just bring the NBA back into the limelight much earlier than it’s usual April/May debut. Recent match-ups have included:
11/26: Washington @ Dallas, Phoenix @ Golden State
11/28: WAS @ San Antonio, Houston @ PHX
11/29: Denver @ Lakers, HOU @ G. S.
11/30: LAK @ Utah, Orlando @ PHX
12/1: Toronto @ WAS
12/2: ORL @ LAK
12/3: ORL @ G. S.
12/5: PHX @ TOR, DAL @ S. A. , LAK @ DEN
12/6: DEN @ DAL
12/7: PHX @ WAS, TOR @ Boston, UT @ S. A.
12/8: UT @ DAL
12/9: HOU @ TOR, G. S. @ LAK
That’s 21 games between two .500+ teams in a 2 week span. This is a good thing for the NBA, and for the sports fan.

What else are you supposed to do on Monday night?
ESPN released its numbers from Monday Nights Ravens vs. Patriots game and they were not only the highest the network had ever seen (12,529,000 homes average) but with over 17.5 million viewers it passed Cable’s all time highest rated program. Take that High School Musical 2. Thus further proving a few theories I have always maintained. ESPN has better programming than the Disney Channel, Football provides more viewing pleasure than Musicals, the 17.2 million people who watched High School Musical 2 need to get off the couch, 17.2 million (estimated) people watched a made for Disney Musical.

Florida Doomed to Lose
Sorry to the folks in Florida. It really must be kinda tough to be a fan of pretty much any team in the US’ Wang. Every time the Marlins win they trade away most of their roster. And this time, they weren’t even winning they just decided screw it and got rid of the last two people on their roster with WS rings from only 4 years ago. Do the Marlins think it will be easy to replace the All Stars Stats? Cabrera finished off last season with 34/119 and batting .320/.419/.542. And Willis’ numbers, though slightly down from past years included a 10-15 record in 35 games started with a 5.17 ERA but a career ERA of 3.78 and Florida is losing one of their better bats in Willis. A real shock is that he heads to the AL. How can you even support the Marlins at this point when the players there don’t last longer than 5 years. Is it even worth buying any Marlins gear. In Miami, Wade has only played in 10 games leading former All-Star and Shaq’s first little buddy to stack up over 20 minutes/game this season. When Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway is in your starting line-up and it’s not 1994, that’s a bad thing. And Shaq’s been limited to under 30 minutes/game due to the fact that he’s 35 and 325 lbs. The state only has 2 football teams in the final top 25 and one of them is South Florida who had one of the craziest years in College Football History. Furthermore typical Bowl powerhouses (until recent years) Miami (5-7) and Florida State (7-5) finished out of the BCS picture for the 2nd straight year. Florida State is playing Kentucky in the Music City Bowl and Miami didn’t even qualify for a bowl game. And Florida is getting a gift playing after New Years in the Capital One Bowl. Oh and they are the home to the Miami Dolphins.

Don’t get upset at the numbers
To cap off a column I wrote a few months ago about the wacky College Football season here are some final numbers going into Bowl Season:
Tim Tebow: well deserving of the Heisman with 29 Passing TDs and 22 Rushing TDs and only 6 Total Turnovers, but might not receive it because he’s a Sophomore.
Colt Brennan: well deserving of the Heisman with 38 Passing TDs and 8 Rushing TDs and almost 4200 yards passing (in limited minutes due to blowout and injury), but probably won’t receive it because he played at Hawai’i.
Final Tally: 61 total times a Top-25 Team lost, 28 of those were top-10 teams, 7 times (in 14 weeks) the #2 team lost, 4 times the #1 team lost (3 of those the #1 and #2 lost in the same week) twice the #4 team lost, 3 times the #5 team lost but after all of that the #3 team only lost once all season. Of course when said #3 team moved the #2 they didn’t fare so well. Yet these same voters who ranked Cal (6-6), Oregon (8-4), BC (10-3) and South Florida (9-3) as a #2 during the season are the one’s deciding that deserving teams can’t play in the National Championship game, wonderful system. Fun Stat: LSU was 6-0 this season as a #2 Ohio State 3-1 as a #1.
There was a 15 lateral victory by Trinity College and Jonathon Weiner actually called it, perfectly, pretty much ensuring a good shot at a successful future in broadcasting. But the best quote of that game, and of the entire college football season, by far was by a little known 6 foot even 250 lb offensive lineman Josh Hooten, who not only once but twice held the ball, if only for a nano-second, during the 15 toss drive, including the blind over his head toss. “On these lateral plays, a lot of times there’s some fat guy trying to score and he gets tackled at the 10-yard line. I didn’t want to be that guy. I just hot-potatoed it and looked for someone to block”.

See Ya Tomorrow Sports Fans.
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