THE DAYS OF WHINE AND ROSE ......

***UPDATE:  This post was published at 5 p.m. CST on Tuesday.  Less than five hours later the Chicago Tribune reported Derek Rose had suffered his third knee injury tearing the meniscus in his right knee.  He is likely out for the rest of the season.  The following is a dialogue in could of, should of and would of's.....

He's been pampered for virtually his entire life.  He's been called the "franchise".  But something is amiss.  And now as people are stopping and smelling the rose....they don't much like the fragrance any more.  

Yes, that rose, is none other than Derek. The starting point guard for your Chicago Bulls.  The one who played one year of college basketball for the University of Memphis before being drafted first overall by Chicago in the 2008 NBA draft.  Rose became the first guard to be drafted first overall in the NBA draft since Allen Iverson in 1996 and would subsequently win NBA Rookie of the Year.  In 2011, Rose was named the NBA Most Valuable Player, becoming the youngest player to win the award at 22 years and 6 months old.

Once a high flying act.....now becoming just an "act"
 

But that was then and this is now.  A whole lot has transpired since that 2011 season.  During the 2012 NBA playoffs, Rose tore his ACL.  That led to a long and tenuous rehab, both from his perspective and the fans. They wanted him on the court....he had other things in mind.  Which meant he sat out for the entire 2013 season.  When he did return the following year, his time was short-lived.  He tore a menicsus in November and was lost for the remainder of the season.

What fans saw...what stuck in their craws was the selfish attitude he exhibited.  Many of his teammates played with a variety of injuries. Yet he sat on the bench and worse yet, participated in practice, but not game action.  He and his entourage....led by brother Reggie, became a issue for team management.  Time and again there were mixed messages as to who was "spinning" and who was offering the truth when it came to Derek's rehab.  Over the course of these two years, three almost, damage was done. The love affair, the franchise was not the Jordan replica. 

- "Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose."

The 2015 season has been yet another point of struggle.  Interviews with Rose are often mixed with rambling nonsense.  He continues to be off to side when it comes to his teammates.  He appears, at times confused, yet confident, a strange mix indeed.  Many of his messages are aimed at team issues and not his own.  And it's an act that is growing worse by the day. 

- "A rose, is a rose, is a rose".

In Monday's 87-71 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Rose was 1-13 from the field, 1-7 from 3-point range and totaled 8 points.  Hardly what you'd expect from someone who is the supposed team leader. 

He's down in virtually every category this year from his career averages:

                                 GP   FG%     3P%      FT%    RPG    APG     PTS.
    This Season          46    .407      .287      .816       3.1      5.0       18.4
    Career                 335    .453      .306      .815       3.7      6.5       20.5


These are the numbers that are making Bulls fans and media shake their heads.  It's becoming a matter of one game good, and one game bad....up and down. And with the season dwindling down to a mere 20 something game run to the playoffs, that's not a good sign. 

There appears to be some school of thought that the Bulls will be fine come playoff time.  I don't subscribe to that thought.  While Chicago could make a seven-game series interesting, it won't spell NBA Finals....or even Conference Finals.

- "Just remember, during the winter, far beneath the bitter snow, that there's a seed that with the sun's love in the spring becomes a rose". 


Then what?  Well...it's time to look elsewhere, I believe.  Sadly, I have a feeling Rose is just another play away from injuring a knee for a third time.  While there would be a good market for the 6-3 guard, the time is now to make a deal.  As I look at the remainder of the Bulls roster, I see a formidable group.  However, they play best when they play together.  Is it Rose.....is it the constant pressure head coach Tom Thibodeau places on his players?   Frankly, I'm not sure.  But one thing I do is........

-Men are like roses, watch out for the thorns".   And that's putting it nicely.

Thanks for reading,

John

CHARGES OF RACISM IN LITTLE LEAGUE DECISION

You've got to be kidding, right?  Racism.  And guess who's right at the head of the line, leading the charge?  The Reverend Jesse Jackson.

The one word I'm talking about concerns the shed-to-light story this past week involving the Chicago-based Little League team, Jackie Robinson West and the Little League International decision to strip them from their U.S. title from the 2014 Little League World Series. 



Racism....a word Robinson knew far better than anyone today

Here is what tipped the iceberg.  "According to a Chicago Tribune story, at an afternoon press conference Thursday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson questioned the motives behind the decision.

"This decision's untimely and inappropriate at this time. It should not take six months after a team has played a championship game to determine eligibility to play the game in the first place," Jackson said.

Jackie Robinson West had its title taken away when it was discovered that players in its lineup lived outside the team's geographic boundaries. The decision came after teams the Chicago squad defeated in the Little League World Series complained.

"When you're going over to voter registration and going to birth certificates and doing all this time of hunting and a witch hunt that's been going on for the last number of months," The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Chicago pastor, said.

"I can't help but wonder the question if the same thing would have been done with another team from another place, another race," Pfleger told CBS News.

The Chicago-based rapper Twista also raised claims of racism, telling TMZ.  "I'm outraged. You don't see this extensive of an investigation happen unless it happens to black people."

Really?  Alright, let me ask a question then.  The managers, League President and most of the players from Jackie Robinson West knew what they were doing was illegal.  How could you not?.  And even more so, how could you have played the entire league year with players who were ineligible and not had an ounce of conscience.  Your decisions are your consequences.  Most players know the boundaries.....all managers most certainly do and there is no excuse for a League President not verifying eligibility.  The state, regional and national committee's also did a poor job of checking eligibility requirements  

I've been a part of Little Leagues before as a coach and board member, both in around the Des Moines, Iowa suburbs.  I know what's done to assure each all-star meets the requirements that Little League International sets. If we had a player that lived outside the boundaries, they could participate in league play, but were ineligible for all-star competition.  There should be no argument from Jackie Robinson West.  Sadly, they got caught.  And because of the actions of some adults (and I use that word loosely) the Jackie Robinson West players will be associated with tarnished images for the rest of their lives.  All for what?  All for what........Let's see what words fly when the league is asked to return the nearly $200,000 in contributions.
        
"When you make a donation to a charity, that's a completed gift. You don't have any rights to manage the charity or do anything else," said Jack Siegel, a Chicago lawyer who monitors charities and sits on the BBB Wise Giving Alliance board. "You're probably not going to get your money back, but never say 'never.'"

Another Chicago source felt the League might receive additional financial support because of the media attention.  Perhaps those dollars can help rid the league of the unsavory people being replaced (managers and directors).

Through this past week, there have been several times I've thought...."what about Jackie Robinson, the name they're associated with".  What about him? 

Jackie Robinson made so many things possible for athletes – and  - especially the dreams of African American athletes – but he also was a giant figure for those of us who wanted to research, teach and frame the steps to equality in America. 

Perhaps Jackie Robinson West forgot who they were representing.  Because from where I sit.  Racism is one of the last words I reach for.  I was thinking.  Stupid.  Yeah, Stupid.  S-T-U-P-I-D.

Thanks for reading,

A SUPER BOWL FIRST.......AN EJECTION

Everybody is talking about the "call" after the stunning conclusion to the 2015 Super Bowl.  And well they should because no matter how you spin it, it was stupid, stupid, stupid.  I'm not sure how Seattle Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll, can expect us to believe his postgame "stand-up" interview......"we had the right play called and it was my decision".  The New England Patriots will go down as the victor in the 49th Super Bowl 28-24.  And Seattle will be the loser.

One of the most embarrassing Super Bowl moments....EVER

But they could go down as the loser in another way. Not only will the Seahawks go down as having lost the game, they can claim a title that no one has worn before, the Super Bowl's first ever ejection.  With 18 seconds left to play and the Patriots running out the clock, post-play pushing and shoving boiled over into a brief fight between the two teams. Several players were involved by the time it ended, but the officials identified Seahawks linebacker  Bruce Irvin as the instigator and ejected him from the game.

"I was protecting a teammate, emotions flew," Irvin said Sunday night. "I saw somebody hit Mike Bennett, so I went and backed up my brother. I went about it wrong. Emotions were flying high, and I apologize.

"But if it happened again, I would go protect my teammate. That's just how it is."
Patriots guard Ryan Wendell and Irvin were shoving back and forth in the back of the end zone. With the officials focused on the pile of players in the middle of the field, Irvin and Patriots tight end Michael Hoomanawanui were locked up.  Irvin threw Hoomanawanui to the ground as players were separated.

Three times Irvin went to Twitter to express his feelings and offer some sort of apology.  His last remark went like this.  "Still not an excuse and I'm truly sorry to all the 12's and my Wvu family for my actions".  The Wvu stands for West Virginia University.  And they, of course, had seen Irvin in action before.  He has been less than a model citizen and now you can put less than a model professional football player in that same sentence.

Here's a look back....

May 23, 2007

The day Irvin and two others broke into a drug dealer's house in suburban Atlanta. After dropping out of high school, he fell in with people who were tumbling like himself – the kind of people his mother warned him would "laugh at you when you are down and out."

All rational thought was gone, though. He didn't much consider the consequences when he entered the home. Nothing mattered besides the money. He and two others robbed the house and escaped, not realizing that the person next door saw them and called the police.

It didn't take long for Irvin to be arrested and hauled to the police station where he was charged with burglary and carrying a concealed weapon. Then he was thrown into jail where he sat for two-plus weeks.  "I thought I was done," he says.

March 18, 2012

The day he got arrested, again. A silly thing perhaps: misdemeanor charges of destruction of property and disorderly conduct. According to the police report, Irvin knocked a magnetic Pita Pit sandwich shop sign off the top of a delivery car. He was arrested when the driver said the sign was damaged.

Irvin will not discuss the incident publicly, even to correct an erroneous report that he had shattered a sign inside a Jimmy John's shop. The most he has said came two days after his arrest when he posted on his Twitter account: "If u honestly believe I would blow my chances destroying jimmy johns after all the hard work I put in to get in my situation ur crazy!"

It would seem to me, that I'm crazy. Because he hasn't learned.  After the opportunities that Irvin has had.....he has been a continual abuser in the system.  The Seahawks took the linebacker/defensive end in the 1st round of the 2012 draft, the 15th player chosen overall.  He was, by all accounts, expected to be a fixture with the the Seahawks.  Now, I'm not so sure.  If......and that's a big "if", the National Football League wants to change its image and hold players accountable for their actions on and off the field, they need to step up and use Irvin's knucklehead actions as an example.  When you consider the number of young people watching the Super Bowl, the end of the game brawl was a black eye on the sport, to say the least. 

Yes, Bruce Irvin has a lot of growing up to do.  But so does a number of his teammates, namely Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch and Doug Baldwin.  Their attitude on the game leaves a lot to be desired.  But perhaps they have acceptance from someone who looks the other way.....in the name of winning.  Pete Carroll has a history of running a shadowy program.  Can you say USC?  And as Pete likes to say "any notoriety is good, I guess". 

If that's the way you want to be remembered Pete, so be it.  Hopefully, the NFL has other thoughts and the dark side of the game becomes a thing of the the past.  The Super Bowl had so many good things to offer.....the brawl did not.    

Thanks for reading,

John