Stop the presses. Move over “Greased Lightning” and Willy T. Ribbs. You’ve got company.
For those ignorant of the accomplishments of those two gentlemen, let the record reflect that Wendell Scott was the first African-American to win a NASCAR race. I wouldn’t have known that — heck, I have trouble knowing who any of the CAUCASIAN NASCAR luminaries are — except for the fact that I’m a Richard Pryor fan, and he starred in an otherwise forgettable 1977 biopic about Mr. Scott called “Greased Lightning,” which I watched because, hey, Richard Pryor was in it.
Willy T. Ribbs — as aptly surnamed an individual as anyone who’s competed in a sport that treats barbecue almost as reverently as it does cars and speed — was merely the winningest African-American competitor in any motorsport. Not that that’s saying a lot. In some ways being the winningest African-American in a sport that has so few is like being the world’s tallest midget. But by all accounts Ribbs was pretty good.
He raced in IndyCar circuits, including CART, the Indy Racing League and even a couple of Indy 500’s. He was the first black man of any nationality to race Formula One. He came along before the heyday of NASCAR, but I suspect that the fit wouldn’t have been good anyway, since he’s been quoted referring to NASCAR (not without some grain of truth, I think) as “Neck-car.”
Ribbs did have a semi-significant impact on NASCAR, though not intentionally and not directly because of his race. According to his Wikipedia entry, a Winston Cup car owner entered him to drive a car in the 1978 World 600 at the Charlotte track, but after he “skipped two practice sessions and was arrested for evading police when he drove the wrong way down a one way street,” the owner replaced him with some guy named Dale Earnhardt (Sr., not Jr.), of whom you may have heard a thing or two. Mind you, given stock-car racing’s NASCAR’s roots in the moonshine-transportation industry we know so well from “The Dukes of Hazard,” I’m guessing that getting arrested for evading police after driving the wrong way down a one-way street would have gotten most drivers back then a standing ovation, not a suspension, as long as their skin was the right complexion.
But anyway, why am I dredging up this ancient history? ‘Cause a 23-year-old black man (a Brit, not an American), Lewis Hamilton, has just won the most coveted single title in Formula One circles, the World Driving Championship. In only his second year in Formula 1 racing, no less. He won 9 of the 35 F1 races he entered, and had 22 “podium finishes,” en route to this year’s championship. Last season, as a “rookie,” he finished second overall by a single point.
The achievements of black athletes should be no great surprise by now. But motorsports in general have been somewhat hostile to non-Caucasians. And Formula 1, in particular, with its aura of polo, gentlemen’s clubs and money, wouldn’t have been my first guess as the circuit that saw this stunning breakthrough.
Given that this is a Presidential election year in the U.S., take note that Mr. Hamilton, like Barack Obama, is the product of a marriage between a Caucasian mother and a black father; that he didn’t get where he is via “affirmative action”; and that, like black soccer players, he’s endured his share of vile racial taunts and epithets on the circuit. Is he an “agent of change”? Is he “the one” (or, as John McCain called him, “That One”? We should all stay tuned.
Speaking of matters of color, please color me “perplexed.” What is Detroit’s upside in 86ing Chauncey Billups, still one of the premier all-around point guards in the league, and Antonio McDyess, who’s not exactly washed up — or wasn’t in Game 4 of last season’s Eastern Conference Final, anyway, when he scored 21 and snared 16 boards to help the Pistons even that series — for an exciting, competitive, but oh-so-seriously flawed chucker like Allen Iverson?
Well, maybe they didn’t really trade McDyess. In the loony world of NBA trades in the salary-cap era, McDyess was thrown in to help make the salaries match, since AI earns more this year that McDyess and Billups combined. Indeed, Denver bought out McDyess and his final playing destination may well be — you guessed it — Detroit, at a reduced salary. Always fun to see a player traded for himself.
I understand that changes had to be made to the Pistons, who’ve underachieved and disappointed in the postseason for the past 4 years. Sure, they managed to win it all against an utterly dysfunctional (and injured) Lakers team in 2004, and have reached the Eastern Conference Final 4 straight years. But they’ve lost the last 3 straight, and have performed worse in each successive Conference Final. And even getting to that stage was a lesser achievement than it would seem to be at first blush, since there are fewer good teams in the East than in the West, even now. They never really had to play anybody until the Eastern Final.
The Pistons have had an enviable regular season record although the Pistons have perhaps the best overall regular season record the past 4-5 years, their weaknesses have been exposed cruelly in the playoffs. Among those weaknesses are: a lesser commitment to defense than they had when they were coached — and driven to distraction — by that neurotic genius, Larry Brown; no real inside play to speak of, once Ben Wallace went downhill seemingly overnight and the other Wallace, Rasheed, decided to play as if he were 5’11” instead of 6’11”; no real team speed; and no real “go-to” guys on offense.
Rip Hamilton is a fine player OFF THE BALL, and gives opposing defenders fits with his constant movement. But neither he nor, seemingly, anyone else on the team can get his own shot without lots and lots of screens. He’s sure not going to see the ball where he wants it MORE often, now that AI is responsible for its distribution.
Tayshaun Prince was deemed sufficiently accomplished to play for Team USA in this year’s Olympics. He’s a consummate role player, and a better-than-good defender, whose length always seems to give Kobe trouble. Every so often, he can stop and pop from outside. He’s effective when his team needs his offense, but he doesn’t need the ball all the time to be effective. But he’s not much of a rebounder, is easily muscled off his mark, and he isn’t all that consistent a shooter. And did I say he’s a role-player, albeit a very, very good one?
I like Rodney Stuckey’s physical skills and potential. But anyone who believes that playing with/behind Billups has been holding him back from stardom has, as they say, another think coming. The only thing Stuckey will learn more of from seeing AI strut his stuff in place of Billups is what NOT to do to run a team.
Still, it all starts and ends with Rasheed Wallace, who, were he so inclined, certainly could be a dominant power forward, if not a center. But the self-indulgent, narcissistic Rash-weed doesn’t like the scrum inside, and is ever more content to stay far away from the basket and shoot from outside, and to loaf on defense. He’s actually a decent shooter from distance, but the result is that he shoots only about 43% from the floor, instead of the 50%-plus that any near-7-footer should be averaging, and is always out of position for offensive rebounds and second-chance plays.
Does an NBA team with designs on a championship really want to have its sole significant inside presence — unless you count Kwame Brown, which no one who saw him play for the Wizards and the Lakers will ever do — voluntarily and selfishly remove himself from the place where he’s most valuable to the team? To ask the question is to answer it. If a team has to rely on Kwame “Scissorhands” Brown and Jason Maxiell to do what Wallace could and should do so much better, it’s not going anywhere.
As if Wallace’s self-indulgent play weren’t bad enough, he’s an even worse leader. That’s bad for the Pistons because, unfortunately, he’s probably the most influential player on the team, now that Billups is gonzo. Wallace’s attitude hurts his team even worse than his half-assed play. He’s a world-class pouter and head-case. He had one “bright, shining moment” during his half-season in the Pistons’ championship year, when his respect for Larry Brown and his realization that the gravy train would be consigned to the roundhouse permanently unless he straightened out, caused him to clean up his act long enough for a while. Even then, had Karl Malone been healthy during the Finals, Wallace would have vanished in 2004 the same way he has every playoffs since.
Despite his talents — and, some say, considerable intelligence — Wallace refuses to accept coaching; is now reaping the consistent and dubious “benefit” of his perpetual childish and erratic on-court behavior over the years that hasn’t endeared him to the people who hand out foul calls; and always seems to melt down emotionally at the most inopportune times. And THIS is the guy whom Dumars put in charge of the Pistons’ locker room by trading away Billups?
Billups, while obviously given far too much credit for whatever success the Pistons have had, was still crucial to the Pistons’ ability to compete. He’s lost a step or two, and seems more injury prone now than he used to be. But he was and remains a smart player, a pass-first ball distributor, a stalwart defender, a decent shooter when he has to be, generally unafraid to take shots in clutch situations, and, most importantly, an adult and authoritative voice in the locker room. What, AI of all people is going to keep Wallace in check? It is to laugh.
So, now, the Pistons have a “point guard” in name only, who’s justly known for being physically tough and a fearless competitor, but equally notorious for gumming up every offense he’s ever run — except, ironically, that one magical year when he bought into Larry Brown’s program. AI certainly has skills, and he’s still quick. But he’s not as quick as he used to be, and he hasn’t replaced his inevitable physical decline with increased “smarts” to compensate. He scores a lot of points because he’s a conscienceless volume shooter, but he’s not all that consistent.
Not only can’t he defend nearly as well as Billups, but he doesn’t even make any pretense of trying. Does anyone truly believe the Pistons haven’t suffered a net defensive loss with the swap?
As for offensive flow, Iverson’s averaged a tad over 6 assists per game over his career, and his assist totals over the past 3-4 years have been about the same as Billups’s, so it’s a wash in that department, right? Nope, just shows how misleading stats can be. Billups actually tries to run an offense and get his teammates involved; AI doesn’t. Sure, he gets assists, but his passes come, not as part of any cogent offensive plan, but only when he gets into trouble. And, unfortunately, there’s no stat of which I’m aware for making the initial entry pass that results in a basket one or two plays removed. Billups makes those passes; AI doesn’t, because he basically won’t pass unless it can show up on the stat sheet. His “pass only when the shot isn’t available” mentality certainly can gum up an offense — especially since his teammates rely on off-the-ball movement to get open for intelligent passes within the offensive flow. Not bloody likely to happen often, now.
I have a great deal of respect for Joe Dumars’s abilities as a GM. Who wouldn’t, given how well the Pistons have done for so many years under his “rule”? But c’mon. Who can seriously believe him when he says he got AI because the Pistons lacked a go-to guy who can create offense? The fact is that Billups’s best years are probably behind him, and it probably made little financial sense to tie up a lot of money in a long-term contract extension for him. Meanwhile, although AI has a monster contract, it expires after the season, leaving the Pistons room to go after top free agents, like LeBron James. As if LBJ includes Detroit among the teams on his wish list.
I understand the financial issues. I just don’t like anybody — not even the estimable Mr. Dumars — peeing on my back and telling me it’s raining.
Speaking of icky bodily functions, what was rising young star Alexander Semin thinking when he ripped the NHL’s designated darling, Sid Crosby, in an interview with Puckdaddy.com? May be he was inebriated by his sudden success, since he was leading the league in points when he eructed about Crosby.
For the record, Semin said the following:
“What’s so special about [Crosby]? I don’t see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there’s nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago. [Kane] is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb.”
Naturally he, his coach and his owner attributed the words to “bad translation.” Yeah, right. Just like politicians claim that their exact words, when repeated, were “taken out of context.” I don’t buy it for a second.
For reasons I can’t quite understand, the younger Russian players have always been savagely critical of Kid Sid. Maybe not Sid’s Russian teammates, like Evgeni Malkin. They seem to understand the leadership and skills he brings to a team that, lest we forget, did reach the Stanley Cup Finals last season while Semin’s Washington Capitals, even with league scoring leader and leading Crosby-hater Alex Ovechkin, didn’t do squat. But the young stars like Ovechkin, Semin and Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk are as red-faced irate about Crosby’s success and public image as John McCain was about that upstart, Barack Obama.
Admittedly, Crosby did get overly upset about the no-calls and dirty hits he was taking during his rookie season — as an 18-year-old, mind you — and got a lot of penalties for his retaliation. He may be a bit of a whiner. But just to put matters in perspective, Wayne Gretzky, arguably the greatest hockey player or all time, and inarguably the face of the NHL in his era, was known outside Edmonton as “Whine” Gretzky because of the way he was always jawing at the officials. And the equally great Mario Lemieux did his share of pissing and moaning. So, while Crosby’s complaining may be irritating, it sure doesn’t detract from his greatness.
This is only Crosby’s 4th season in the NHL, and he’s still only, and barely, 21. He’s already taken his team to a Cup Final, become the youngest ever to reach 100 points in a season, won a Hart Trophy as MVP, a Lester B. Pearson Trophy as best player in the regular season, and an Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season. He’s been a “plus” in the plus/minus stat every year except his rookie year, when he was a mere -1 on a team that went 22-46 and gave up 316 goals. He’s physically fearless, and doesn’t shy away from contact, either on the receiving or the “giving” end. And he’s the unquestioned captain of his team. It’s a big deal to wear the “C” in the NHL.
No player can escape criticism. Just listen to sports talk radio, and you’ll hear the “Jeff From Tarzanas” of this world tell you that Kobe Bryant isn’t just a horrible human being, but not really all that much of a player, that Tom Brady and Eli Manning suck as QBs, and, well, you know the drill. But rational people can still hate great players and acknowledge that they’ve got game. For all his flaws and faults, Crosby is a great player. For Semin to flatulate on about him as he did suggests an irrationality fueled by jealousy. And, oh, yeah, just by the way, Crosby has closed the points gap on Semin, and is now a mere 3 points behind him in the scoring race. What’ll Semin be saying when all he can see is Crosby’s backside, as Kid Sid passes him in the scoring race?
Also, just for the record, saying Semin went a bit overboard about Crosby doesn’t mean that he was wrong about Patrick Kane, who has the misfortune to play for the perpetually mismanaged and undermanned Chicago Blackhawks. Kane, only 19 and in his second year, has talent to burn, and is currently just a point behind Crosby in the points race. And Chicago is off of a surprising 7-3-3 start. But just to put matters into perspective, while Kane got 21 goals and 51 assists as an 18-year-old rookie last year, Crosby went for 39 and 63 when HE was 18. It’s no insult to Kane to say he hasn’t shown he’s a Crosby yet; but it certainly is an insult to Crosby to imply that he’s a lesser player than Kane — who, by the way, is a winger, not a center, which does make a difference. As a matter of fact, Semin, Ovechkin and Kovalchuk are all wingers, too. Hmmm.
I can’t quit without a shout-out to the Atlanta Hawks, 2008-09 edition. I thought they’d for sure take a step backward without swingman Josh Childress, who decided to play in Greece this season for about 33 Million reasons — all bearing a picture of George Washington. I never thought Childress was a star, but he is a steady, intelligent “glue” type of player that the Hawks, with their plethora of young and talented but somewhat volatile and unstable group of players sorely needed. Or so I believed. A 6-0 start proved me wrong. Of course they’re bound to come back down to earth eventually, and their dysfunctional, fractious ownership group is likely to screw up the chemistry badly and soon, but right now they’re the feel-good story of the young season, and a treat to watch.
I underrated the Celtics all through last season’s playoffs — right up to the time they blew out the Lakers — because of how awful they looked when pushed to 7 games before escaping Atlanta in the First Round. Heck, had the Celts played Game 7 on a neutral floor, they’d have been out golfing early. Little did I know that the Hawks might have been the best opposition Boston faced in the entire postseason — including the Lakers. Just shows that one should always believe the evidence of one’s eyes, rather than stats and “history.”
Please send comments and criticism — especially criticism — to thonglaw@sprynet.com, where it will be dealt with appropriately.
