benaikey

I think I may be done supporting my hometown Charlotte Bobcats.

While watching the Dodgers vs Cardinals on ESPN, I happened to notice the ticker at the bottom of the screen. It said the Bobcats and Hornets, the original Charlotte team (which locals loathe with a passion over how they moved out of town – but that’s another rant for another time), are working on a deal to trade away Emeka Okafor in exchange for Tyson Chandler.

You have got to be kidding me. Okafor was the franchise’s first pick ever, second overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. He had a great season, and won Rookie of the Year. He’s been the face of the franchise through good and bad, nearly making the playoffs and losing ridiculous numbers of games. And now management wants to get rid of him.

This would leave me scratching my head if it didn’t make me so angry. Why would you trade away a great power forward that the fans love in exchange for a guy with chronic toe problems?

I don’t care if this leaves the door open for more salary cap freedom down the road. You’re not going to draw in fans without a fan favorite, and nobody else on this team gets the crowd going like Okafor. And of all the teams to trade him to, why trade him to the team that abandoned this city?

I said I wouldn’t rant, but I have to. The Hornets abandoned Charlotte. Management screwed things over not only in finances, but also in transactions. Did you know the Hornets originally drafted Kobe Bryant? Management thought it would be smart to trade him for Vlade Divac.

In spite of horrible decisions, this city stuck by their Hornets through thick and thin. And one day, management pulled the old Art Modell move. They left for another city overnight, leaving fans devastated and betrayed.

Years later, the NBA, as a way of saying sorry, gave us the Bobcats. Suffice it to say it hasn’t panned out. After 35 wins last year, fans were starting to have faith in this team. We thought the team was finally about to turn the corner and make the playoffs. And now management goes and does this.

I just don’t understand. You needed to add another big man, not trade away our best one for a guy that can’t stay healthy and was turned away from Oklahoma City of all teams because of health problems.

And now, where does that leave the Bobcats? Are they doomed to become the Clippers of the east coast? Or will they become the Supersonics, failing for a few more years, sold, then moved again?

I can honestly say if this is how management wants to run this team, I don’t care. If the trade goes through, I won’t support the Bobcats anymore. I won’t go to games, I won’t watch them on tv, and I won’t report on them. I’ll support every team they play against just to spite management for once again stabbing the fan base in the back. It makes me sick to my stomach to know one of the three professional sports teams in the great state of North Carolina doesn’t care at all about the fans, or about winning.

May the Bobcats lose more games than the Detroit Lions, be ridiculed more than the Knicks, and be cursed worse than the Cubs. I’m done supporting a team that doesn’t care, and I hope the people of Charlotte follow my lead and abandon this team before they can do it to us.

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Just announced on ESPN, the San Antonio Spurs have traded Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto to the Milwaukee Bucks for Richard Jefferson. It’s a curious trade, and I’m not sure the Bucks know what they’re doing. This is a bad trade.

The Spurs are essentially robbing Milwaukee blind. First of all, Jefferson is the youngest player in this trade. By a whole five years. Are you kidding me, Bucks? You’re dealing arguably your best player (the only other consideration being Michael Redd) away for three guys aged 38, 36, and 34? Granted Bruce Bowen is still an excellent defender, but he’s got 9 years on RJ. You traded away a former All-Star and legitimate scoring threat for three out of the five oldest guys on the Spurs roster. They’re so old they were already living when the Spurs merged their way from the ABA to the NBA.

Some of the analysts call it a salary cap move, that they want to be able to re-sign some of their other stars. Let me get this straight. You went 34-48 last year and you think it’s a good idea to trade away your best player so you can keep the same team together? The same team that helped you into the draft lottery yet again? I’m aware the NBA has a luxury tax but I really can’t justify this move. This is the kind of management that has kept the Bucks out of the playoffs for 4 out of the last 5 years, and that one playoff appearance was with a plain 40-42 record. Well done, guys.

The Spurs, on the other hand, have stumbled on to a goldmine. Already full of solid role players such as Michael Finley, Drew Gooden, and Roger Mason and superstars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, swapping out Bowen for Jefferson is a genius move. Looking at their career stats, Jefferson averages more than 10 points per game more than Bowen, pulls down more rebounds, dishes out more assists, even gets more steals than Bowen. Not to mention an astronomically better free throw percentage. The Spurs, an already frighteningly good team, have made themselves better.

The season is far from starting, but this looks like the Pau Gasol to the Lakers trade all over again. At least Memphis got a few first round picks out of the deal. All the Bucks got were some old players, any of which could retire after just one season with the team. It’s a reasonable assumption, and a probability if the Bucks play as bad as I expect them to. Really, the Knicks might be making fun of them for being a total bust next year.

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Excuse me if I seem cynical or unpatriotic for what I’m about to say. The US men’s soccer team had no business advancing in yesterday’s Confederation Cup. They had no business celebrating such a hollow victory. Here’s why.

First of all, Brazil did most of the work. They beat down on Italy 3-0 in yesterday’s match, which is one embarrassing beatdown as far as soccer is concerned. Then again, for Brazil, this is business as usual. They’re the 5^th ranked team in the world, and have previously won 5 World Cups, more than any other nation. Granted, Italy isn’t a slacker either. Ranked 4^th in the world, and defending World Cup champions, they really had no business giving up 3 goals in any match. And that own goal to make the third goal for Brazil was just shameful. Without that goal, USA would have had to beat Egypt by 4 goals instead of 3, so Italy effectively shot themselves in the foot. Did they forget to show up, just blindly assuming Egypt or the USA would just win 1-0 or draw? Looking back, that wasn’t a wise decision. They’ve got a lot of work to do before next year’s World Cup if they plan to defend.

It’s beyond me why USA soccer is always ranked so highly. Before I even get to the rankings, consider the fact that soccer has never been one of the major sports in this country. The “big 4” is composed of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League. If a fifth sport would be added to the list, it would be NASCAR, the fastest growing sport in the country. Major League Soccer is hardly staying afloat, having to stoop so low as to lure away British superstar David Beckham to a team in Los Angeles to try to boost ratings. It hasn’t really worked. Most Americans just don’t care about soccer, and that includes me. Well, American soccer anyway.

There’s no competition, no fighting spirit in MLS. It’s downright boring. The players are likely overpaid, as most athletes are, and they don’t seem to love the game. International soccer, however, is another story entirely. I love World Cup and UEFA Cup soccer. The excitement of watching countries that feature soccer as their national pastime, the teams out there trying to win to bring home some pride for their nation – that’s what sports are really about. Not paychecks, not about the fans even. Sports are about pride, and that’s something team USA just doesn’t have or inspire.

Currently 14^th in the world, when was the last time this team did anything worthwhile? Let me refresh your memory of USA soccer. 2006, they were spanked by the Czech Republic, managed to tie Italy, and were humiliated by Ghana, a team that should have been an easy victory, not making it out of group play. Coach Bruce Arena lost his job over that sad attempt. To be fair, in 2002, they didn’t do half bad, advancing out of group play and eliminating Mexico before being beaten by the powerhouse Germany team. In 1998, team USA lost all three group matches and was ranked 32 out of the 32 participating teams. The 1994 World Cup was hosted in America, and the host team is automatically qualified, a practice I don’t believe in. You shouldn’t get a special entry for just hosting the tournament. I digress. The USA team survived group play, but was eliminated by Brazil in the next round. The previous World Cup, in 1990, had the Americans lose all three games in group play. You get the idea. USA soccer is a mediocre team that only advances by beating mediocre teams, as was the case in yesterday’s match against Egypt, ranked 40^th. It’s not a surprise that USA could score 3 goals against such a relatively weak team.

We’ll see next round how “good” USA soccer really is. In the semifinals, they’re set to face Spain, the highest ranked team in the world. Spain is on a roll, having won 15 straight international matches. That’s right, they won that many in a row. No draws in there, as is common in soccer. 15 straight wins. That’s impressive in any sport. If you ask me, team USA doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance. They’re all hopped up on adrenaline from a freak accident that let them slip by into the next round and the grim reality hasn’t set in yet. Spain is a much better team, and it will show.

This isn’t USA hockey at the 1980 Olympics. There will be no miracle. This isn’t even the World Cup yet and the US team is already getting cocky. Give it til next year in South Africa and you’ll see what I mean. I believe in miracles, but I don’t believe in USA soccer.

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