May 25, 2013

While We’re Waiting… LeBron’s Star Treatment, Gibson’s P.O.A, and Bynum’s Return to L.A.

April 8, 2009 by 18 Comments

While We’re Waiting aims to be the round-up of the recent WFNY-esque information for your morning viewing. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.

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Sam Smith’s tears are forming a river in Chicago: “Do the referees consciously protect James knowing he is perhaps the league’s top marketing figure and he is featured more than any player on the nightly sports highlights? I always doubt that knowing the integrity of the refereeing corps as a group and believe NBA officiating is the best in sports.  Still, we’ve never seen anything like this. Especially at a time when it is generally agreed with rules changes it is the most difficult time to defend on the perimeter without committing fouls.” [Bulls.com via Red's Army]

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Thaddeus Gibson’s plan for this season: “Destroy everything moving.” [Doug Lesmerises/Plain Dealer]

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Looks like L.A. will be full strength soon: ““After today’s practice went well, Andrew Bynum said he plans to play Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies and April 14 against the Utah Jazz. Those are the Lakers’ final regular-season games. Bynum has said all along that he hoped to play in a couple of regular-season games before rejoining the active roster for the playoffs.” [SLAMOnline]

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Dawgs By Nature as their updated draft board.  I’m not so sure I’d place Beanie Wells that high. [Dawgs By Nature]

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Recapping the one to forget: “Cliff Lee looked very sharp in his 1-2-3 first inning. His trouble started when he was struck in the left forearm (near the elbow) when Hank Blalock hit a ball right back at him. You could see the swelling on TV. Lee gave up four runs that inning, seven for the game. I know he had a lousy spring and I saw some of it in Arizona, but I don’t connect the opener in Texas to that spring — the guy got hit in the pitching arm. That is an asterisk.” [Terry Pluto/Pleain Dealer]

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“Go ahead and ask yourself, when you think of who represents a “Cleveland Brown” in this new era, who do you think of? Is it as hard for you as it is for us to not think of Tim Couch holding up his #1 jersey on draft day? Meanwhile, in Britain, Browns owner Randy Lerner is “reaching out to fans” of his prized Aston Villa soccer club. “He asked the public to help him update the club’s crest,” he’s bought scarves for fans, he’s spent $8 million dollars to refurbish an old pub next to the team’s stadium, and buys pies and ale for 200 season ticket holders before every home game. “The right sort of American,” the papers over there call him.” [Cleveland Frowns]

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  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com DP

    Wait, a Bulls fan is complaining about a player wearing #23 getting “star treatment”? Short memory much?

  • adam

    haha that post on bulls.com is rediculous! how many calls went the celtics way in game 7 last year? every single last one. if bron is favored that much by the nba we wouldve won that game.

    also i was thinkin they were talkin about favoritism on his drives to the basket, but i realzed thats not what the post is about. OBVIOUSLY becuz refs cant tell when he is fouled on his drives cuz bron is so strong it looks like he isnt touched sometimes. they are seriously complaining about the fouls called on bron!?! wow what a bunch of losers i am fired up to (hopefully) play the bulls in round 1.

  • mmonast

    star players get the calls in the nba????Especially when they are at home?!?!?!

    BRAINSPOLSION!!!!!

  • Swig

    I said this yesterday, but guess I’ll exapnd…

    I always doubt that knowing the integrity of the refereeing corps as a group and believe NBA officiating is the best in sports.

    Donaghy has allegedly bet on games that he reffed. Crawford’s inexplicable bias against Duncan. Those are just what jump off my head.

    The NBA never acknowledges issues, even when they’re blatantly obvious (fining coaches for bringing it up).

    It’s nice the rest of his article is based on numbers, because clearly he has no idea what he’s talking about.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    @ Swig – you forgot the fact that Bavetta is biased against retirement and those “blasted automobiles”.

  • Markster

    How many fouls is Lebron averaging a game?

  • adam

    i hate joey crawford. i hope we dont have a road game in the playoffs with him as the ref. if so mark that up as a loss.

    the bavetta/barkley kiss after their footrace still goes down as one of the most akward moments on live television ever.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    Markster – 1.7/g. Smith’s whinefest is because James didn’t have more than one foul called on him in about a 20-game stretch. And per his scientific research, it’s impossible for someone as fluid as James to not foul more often.

  • Boomhauer

    LeBron plays smart on defense and is very conscious of avoiding unnecessary fouls. He never commits one of those stupid blocking fouls while defending a pick and roll or reaching in fouls.

  • Markster

    I found it, he averages 1.7 fouls a game. Seems low for the amount of min. per game he plays. And interesting to me, probably not too surprising. Lebron is in the top ten for technical fouls. The players in the top ten of the East in technical fouls is kind of interesting. To no one’s surprise Rasheed Wallace is the leader and the rest of the top ten are the East’s superstars. (Howard14) (Wade11) (Bosh10) (Lebron 10)

  • S-Dub

    Lerner has never refused to spend money on the Browns and I believe he has tried to spend the money to make the Browns the best he can, hasn’t always worked out though.

  • Omega King

    The thing about the NBA when comparing 80′s-to-mid-90′s basketball is that the game has slowed down and teams are getting less possessions per game. Pro-rate LeBron’s fouls per game against the disparity in possessions between eras, and you’ll likely come to LeBron averaging 2.5 or so fouls per game. As such, people need to quit complaining all the time about it. Think this guy complained when Jordan got all the calls? No. He probably lauded him for being such a wonderful defender (which he was, but still).

  • Scotty P

    “The right sort of American,”

    I swear, I am on the edge of just taking all my Browns stuff and burning it. I hope his dads beats him hard in the afterlife. I feel like a red-headed step child, or how every goalie felt when Hector Marinaro played for the Crunch/Force.

  • sambofromOH

    Ah, a Crunch reference. I am sitting underneath one of thier pennants this very second. I actually like Aston Villa. They are kinda like the Indians in that they dont throw gobs of money around to get players but are still in contention every year.

    WOW! 4th overall for Beanie? That is ranking him pretty high!

  • Swig

    @Omega,
    The pace difference is approx 90 vs 100 possessions/game. So adjusting for the pace would bump 1.75 to approx 1.89, which is still low

  • dwhit

    15 responses and not one mention of Dawgs by Nature having Beanie Wells at #4 on their list? I’ll chime in with my response…

    Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

  • http://www.clevelandfrowns.com Cleveland Frowns

    The point isn’t that Lerner doesn’t spend money on the Browns, it’s that he doesn’t care about the Browns, thus spends money foolishly on them.

  • Omega King

    Thanks Swig. I didn’t realize that the difference was so miniscule.

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