Around the Sports World in 800 Words

The Russian Judge Gave Him a 9.3

When I played basketball in high school, I wasn’t the most athletic guy on the floor. I had to make up for that with defensive hustle plays. I learned to play good defense both on and off the ball, overplay passing lanes, and draw charges.

Drawing a charge became an art form for me…I had a knack of recognizing when a guy was out of control driving to the hole, beating him to the spot and establishing position, and yes, when I had to, embellishing my fall to the floor to get the charge call.   

Was it a cheap play when I flopped backwards? Probably. But it was a part of my game that kept me on the floor, and playing time was really all I cared about.

I used to think that qualified me as a flopper. But after watching Andrei Kirilenko and some of his European comrades (read: Dirk Nowitzki) take flopping to the next level over the past few years, I now know I was way too hard on myself. 

These guys are flopping on non-basketball plays…Drawing phantom fouls, or worse, phantom technical fouls. I couldn't find a great video of Kirilenko's flop from Monday night (you'll have to see it in one of the 805 times it is played on SportsCenter tonight). But check out these gems I did find:

Last year, Bill Simmons wrote about the European influence that has flooded the league with floppers (scroll down to No. 3 where he takes Kirilenko to task last year). He was dead on accurate, so I feel little need to add to the reason for the flop’s influx. But I do feel a need to suggest a remedy. 

The NBA should adopt the following rule changes:

(1) Any time a ref deems a player to have flopped, he will receive a technical foul;  

(2) The league disciplinary office will review every game for alleged flopping incidents. Whether the flop is called on the court or not, if an official deems a player has flopped he will receive discipline. First offense: $100,000. Second offense: $500,000. Third offense: ten-game suspension.

Let’s see Kirilenko pirouette out of a box out under those rules.   

J-Rolling Along

Isn’t Philadelphia supposed to be a tough media market? If that’s the case, where is all the outrage over how the Phillies’ medical staff handled Jimmy Rollins’ high ankle sprain?  

J-Rolled his ankle on April 8 against the Mets. The Phillies held him out of the starting lineup, but allowed him to pinch hit four times. Rollins went 1-for-4 in those plate appearances, and showed a clear limp on his one hit when running to first base.

The Phillies finally realized on April 20 that Rollins was gutting out the injury and still clearly in pain. They put their MVP shortstop on the DL.  

What I want to know is why did it take the Phillies’ medical staff two weeks to figure out that a high ankle sprain isn’t something that heals in two weeks? Isn’t it common knowledge that the high sprain is a much more serious injury with a longer recovery time?

And even if they had legitimate reason to believe Jimmy’s injury was not that severe, once Uncle Chollie watched Rollins hobble to first on April 16, why didn’t he and the rest of the Philly brass immediately DL their spark plug to protect him?  

How on Earth could they have waited another four days and given him another at-bat before noticing that maybe Jimmy was more hurt than he was letting on?

"I never 'regret' nothing I do," Manuel said in a press conference. "How can I go back? What I did is what I did. I want Jimmy Rollins to play. If he's hurt, I want to get him well. Do I regret something? What does that mean? Hey, I was trying to win a ballgame, that's all.” 

Maybe you should have been trying to protect your player…or on a less human level, maybe you should have been more concerned about your team’s long term prospects (this season and beyond) than winning one game in April.

It’s Only Hockey 

Someone needs to explain to me why Habs fans decided to trash their city over a first-round playoff win. Aren’t the Canadiens the top seed in the East? Weren’t they supposed to win? What happens if they win the Cup? Will they take Canada on strike? Will they start a border war?

Get a grip, Habs. It’s just one round. And more to the point, it’s just hockey.

Mea Culpa, Red Sox Fans

I’m an idiot. On the bright side, it only took me three weeks to realize it.

When we did our 2008 MLB predictions, I picked the Yankees and not the Sawx to win the AL East. I didn’t love either team (the Yanks starting staff is suspect and the Sox were, I thought, doomed for a post-Series hangover). 

But I didn’t take into account the fact that the Sawx are sparked by two talented players that are too young to suffer from that Series hangover. Pedroia and Ellsbury are both coming into their own. With two high-energy players in its lineup, Boston shouldn’t really lack for momentum.

I still have questions about the BoSox in the back of the rotation…but just about every team has question marks at starters No. 4 and No. 5.

My bad, Boston. Your team is much better—much better—than your rival to the south. I'm a moron...but still not as big a moron as this guy:

NFL Draft

NFL draft interviews have officially become too invasive…and too hypocritical. Remember recruits, deny ’til you die. After all, it’s still working for Bill Belichick.