Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) questions a call by referee Eric Lewis (42) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) A thought occurred to us Tuesday night: Is this the high-water mark of the NBA since Jordan's apex in Chicago?
Think about what is around us.
There are a multitude of "greatest ever" tags that can be fairly discussed with a number of played and scenarios in the game right now.
The Warriors are pushing hard for best team ever. And star Steph Curry is in the discussion of best shooters ever and most dominant players under 6-foot-4 ever.
LeBron James is LeBron James, and he's in the discussion for best player ever and with Shaq and Wilt and a few others as the biggest freak ever.
The Spurs have the best dynasty in the free agent-era, and may have the best power forward ever in Tim Duncan.
Dirk Notwitzki is the greatest European player ever and all things considered, he's the prototype that changed basketball as we know it. In fact, we'll do a Rushmore of influences that shaped our modern sports and go with Lawrence Taylor (the Godfather of the speed pass rusher that all teams covet), the late-1990s Yankees who had Wettland closing and Rivera setting up, giving us the inn in-by-inning specialists we have today, The Moneyball analytics folks who now are present in every sport and Dirk, who may not have been the first stretch 4, but has become the best one and the prototype of that concept.
The OKC Thunder may have the best 1-2 punch ever. (Yes, Jordan-Pippen is the standard, but that's heavy on the 1 and very much lacking on the 2 considering a lot of the other nominations.) Yes, the Thunder duo has a long way to go, but man Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are supremely fun to watch.
Then there is Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks' 7-3 rookie who is such an expected freak with an impossible image skill set and ceiling that Durant has dubbed him "The Unicorn."
Wow. The NBA really is fantastic.
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Draft double up
We love the draft. You know this.
This does not translate to the Pro Bowl draft tonight, in which Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice will pick the rosters for the NFL all-star game. (Of course that draft will likely get more TV ratings than any college basketball game this week. Sigh.)
That said, we have to wonder if the Atlanta Falcons now have too many draft cooks in the kitchen.
Earlier this week the Falcons added two former general managers to their scouting department.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) points up during a post game news conference after an NFL wild-card football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, in Minneapolis. The Seahawks won 10-9. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) Yes, the Atlanta Falcons have four guys on staff who have been an NFL GM - current GM Thomas Dimitroff, former New England GM Scott Pioli (assistant to the GM), former Chicago GM Phil Emery and former Tennessee GM Ruston Weston.
Wow, that's a ton of experience. And the potential for some serious tugs of war.
Nevermind the fact that we believe head coach Dan Quinn also will have a very important say in draft matters, considering the success Seattle had drafting players to Quinn's system in recent years. Seattle added All-Pro players Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner with picks after round one; Seattle also added defensive free agent pass rushers Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril under Quinn. Dude has an eye for defensive difference makers. (That said, the jury is still out on the Vic Beasley pick. We'll see.)
So what does it mean? It means that Arthur Blank is ponying up some coin to improve the evaluation of the roster and the prospective picks. It also could lead to some interesting power struggles. Man the Falcons draft room will be a lot of fun.
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More Cam
At some point we will have a 5-at-10 without some Cam Newton talk. That point is not today, though.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback and soon-to-be MVP was again in the odd headlines Wednesday.
First, the Seattle Seahawks fan base is circulating a petition not to allow Newton back in Seattle. This is over the ridiculous flap between the Seahawks backers and Newton, who crumpled up and threw a "12th Man" flag after a playoff win. Apparently, this side of talking during the prayer or pulling off a religious headdress, throwing the 12th Man flag is an act of war.
OK. The petition - which has the legals merit of a comic book of course - had more than 1,000 signatures in less than a day. (Side note: Want to talk about the epitome of a 'First-World' problem, being bent out of shape that an opposing quarterback threw your fan base flag on the ground. Side note, II: If this actually could work, man, how many cities would have petitioned Jordan to stay in Chicago. Plus, if you think home-court advantage is important now, the petition plan would make it paramount.)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Bruce Carter (50) in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone) The silliness of the butt-hurt Seahawks fans aside, we have had some great discussions about Newton's place in the hierarchy of current quarterbacks. (To be fair, while we believe Newton's ceiling is somewhere between game-changer and transcendental, Stewwie's point about injury - and Newton's style puts him in harm's way more often than most - means his basement is very comparable to a Daunte Culpepper. Nice case Stewwie.)
We also are very intrigued with the perception of Newton. In fact we have written multiple times that a win in the Super Bowl will move Cam into the one-name stratosphere of sports stardom. It's certainly possible, but the underlying fact is a lot of the country simply doesn't like Cam.
It's a variety of factors.
Part of it is race. Yes, we think the race card is played far too often in this country - and the locker room is the most color blind place in the world (if you are purple with polka dots and can play, the most important thing is you can play). But to deny there's racism in this country is as goofy as rapper B.o.B.'s passionate belief the world is flat.
Part of it is age. Newton is 26 and playing the game with the emotions and celebrations (some time over the top, mind you) and antics of a generation conditioned more on Madden the video game than Madden the football persona.
Part of it is style and position perception. Newton does it differently than most quarterbacks, and as a general rule, we as a sports culture are not overly open to change. (Still, though, the fact that Aaron Rodgers' 'Discount Double Check' move is a beloved part of a national ad campaign, but Newton's celebrations are unacceptable is a curious discount double standard.)
To be sure, though, Newton is far from beloved on a national level. In fact, he ranked 22nd in jersey sales this year, behind such big-shots as Jason Witten and Clay Matthews.
Certainly jersey sales are a peculiar metric - there are four Seahawks on the list in front of Newton - and they hardly have any place in the discussion of effectiveness. Heck, Colin Kaepernick is 10th on that list and he's a back-up to Blaine Gabbert for Pete's sake.
Still, Newton's unreal athleticism and abilities have not captivated
All of that makes it more fascinating that Newton is going against Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl.
Manning is the face of the league. He offers an unreal sentimental story. He is the mental version of Newton's unreal physicality.
Man, we love stuff like this.
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This and that
- Speaking of Manning, good on the NFL for investigating the Al Jazeera story on the HGH allegations that included Manning. Yes, the fact that the news network had to close its doors after the story broke does not scream believability. Still, the league has to investigate those allegations.
FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, file photo, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller celebrates a sack against the San Diego Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game in San Diego. Miller says that every sack that he registers merits a celebratory dance on his part. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) - Speaking of the Broncos, Von Miller was the best defensive player on the field. He also came with jokes, saying that the ball he picked off from Tom Brady felt a little flat. Well played sir.
- Speaking of the Super Bowl, cool move by Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who is paying for every employee of the organization to go to the Super Bowl.
- OK, more news of the weird: Here's the Snow Dragon, and here's more on the rapper who believes the world is flat, and here's a story about a woman in Nepal who is 112 years old and has smoked 30 cigarettes a day for 95 years.
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Today's question
Feel free to chime in on any of the above. And we have that little thing called the mailbag Friday.
As for a Rushmore, today would have been the 260th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And that would be a record (non Bible division).
OK, in honor of Amadeus (Amadeus), let's do a double Rushmore of biopics. We'll do the sports division and the non-sports division of movie biographies. (And here's thinking that "Great Balls of Fire" the Jerry lee Lewis story with Dennis Quaid will not make the cut. And no Spy, "Weekend at Bernie's" was not based on true events.)