MAN UP!!!!!!!!

I wrote this a few years back and i am reposting it again because it is still relevant today. Most of these N.B.A. players need to MAN UP.  I don't know when the NBA became so soft but it did happen. It has become commonplace for guys to miss games for broken fingernails. Okay maybe not fingernails but pretty close. I respect Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and a few other tough minded players. Unfortunately there are too many players that are not tough minded. Back in the good old days most of us rarely missed practice let alone games. Today i see guys missing game after game for minor issues. I know not everyone has the same pain threshold but it seems that most of these players don't know the difference between hurt and injured. I can still see Isaiah Thomas running up and down the court on one leg, John Stockton having his broken nose reset on the bench during a timeout and continuing to play or Michael Jordan playing with the flu. Personally, i have played with all sorts of injuries including breaking my hand on December 28, 1992 and being told it was the worst possible break to have since the bone had rotated and that i was done for the year. I had surgery the next day and returned to the lineup on January 25, 1993. I often wonder how long players today would sit out with the same injury. I was speaking with A.C. Green just yesterday and we both wondered sarcastically what a hamstring injury was. Who today can play through injuries and pain like A.C. Green night in and night out. The NBA and its teams have made it easier for players than back in the days with beautiful private planes, luxury hotels, shorter training camp schedule and less physicality yet the players are hurt more. Notice I did not write injured. They sit out now for every little thing. Its become more WNBA than NBA. I shouldn't disrespect the WNBA like that.  Hey guys just man up and play. We used to say if its not broken then you can play. I don't think that's the saying nowadays. The saying now is probably more like what the late Wayman Tisdale(RIP) used to say jokingly "if you feel a tingle, sit on the sideline and mingle".

THE NBA'S 3 G'S ( Gilbert, Guns and Gambling)

Well Commissioner David Stern just handed Washington Wizards player Gilbert Arenas an indefinite suspension from the NBA for his illegal gun possession case. It was only a matter of time before that happened, but Gilbert helped speed the process along with his flippant and carefree attitude. He showed total disrespect to his profession, his teammates/co-workers, his organization, the law and the Commissioner as well. I feel that the last straw was not his fingers drawn like guns in Philadelphia before the game but calling Commissioner Stern "mean". It was as simple as that. Stern was just in his suspension of Arenas. I didn't always agree with Stern when i played and still don't agree with some of the things he does as Commissioner but I and every other sensible player that played knew never to call him names, joking or otherwise. He like any other person has an ego and this situation was already bad to begin with. It involved gambling debts and guns. Those are 2 major issues in the sports world. The NBA is still recovering from the Tim Donaghy situation and here comes this whole mess. I don't want to get into the racial issues because stupidity is stupidity in any color. I also don't want to hear that He brought them to the arena to keep them from his kids. DUHH. Gilbert, you signed a $111 million contract. I think you can afford a gun safe. He was trying to save his butt with that excuse but if he really wanted to save himself he should have kept quiet and stayed off camera. He showed no remorse for the whole situation and that is the biggest mistake an athlete or anyone can make. I hope he learns a lesson from this whole incident. Its going to be costly in so many ways. It reminds me of the movie Frankenstein. When you create a monster you have deal with the actions of said monster. The Wizards and the NBA created a $111 million monster.