The Detroit Pistons had better be careful, or they are going to turn into the USC Trojans.
If you ask the casual fan or even a lot of the hardcore fans what team has been the face of college football over the past three years, the answer will invariably come back USC. And that's probably the right answer. Actually, it is the right answer. But the fact of the matter is, as great as they have been, they have only one National Title to show for it.
(Yes, we know how ridiculous it is to say "only" one. We know how hard it is to win a national title and how great they've been lately. Just go with us for a second.)
"USC dynasty" gets thrown around a lot, which is a shame, because its disrespectful to the term dynasty. Jordan's Bulls, Brady's Patriots - those are dynasties, at least the most current examples. Titles are all that matter when you are talking dynasties. USC had a hell of a run - and, hey, they could still become a dynasty - but they aren't one now.
So where do the Pistons come in? Well, they are arguably the face of the NBA over the last three years. After they upset the Lakers, they had dynasty written all over them. They had an approach that would revolutionize the NBA (5 studs, no The Man's) and had all their key guys locked up. But the next year, they missed a chance to go back-to-back.
Now this season, they have as good a chance as ever to win 2 titles in 3 years. They look like they have their conference sewn up - they are the overwhelming favorite to win the East, especially with home court advantage throughout.
But what happens in the Finals? If they take home trophy number two, then let the dynasty start talk. But if they come up short again, what are they? A really, really good team? Half of the Buffalo Bills? Or the USC Trojans of the L?
And what does this say about their philosophy? We love watching them play, and clearly they are successful as nearly anyone, and not only do they play "right" but they are fun to watch, too. But can it get you all the way? Did they get "lucky" running into a dysfunctional Lakers team for their title? This year's final should make all that a little clearer (more clear? Help us, please).
The strange thing is, we really should be having this conversation about the Spurs. A championship this year makes 3 in 4 years - not too shabby. Maybe we don't talk about them because they are boring as all hell, with Mr. Exciting as a Nap Tim Duncan as the face of the team. Plus, no one on the team speaks the same language, so they aren't exactly media darlings. (With the notable exception of the Manu/Parker commercial a few years back where they were describing the affection for The Trophy to Dr. J - "Manu?" "Tony?" Always good for a giggle.)
This years playoffs has a chance to be The Year of the Birth of a Dynasty. Or someone else could win it all, and the whole point is moot. Either way, the Pistons have a chance to go down with the Bad Boys from the early 90s or the Pretty Boys from SoCal of the early '00s.
Speaking of the Pistons, here's a link to one of the best NBA pieces in recent memory. Usually those fluff pieces are so stiff, they make Tim Duncan look like TO. But ABC actually had some fun with this one, and it showed. Good times, via Need4Sheed: The Mask.
(You know what? We're not even sure what the point of this was. But we are sleepy now.)
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Dynasties should win more than one.
Tang is good.
We hadn't bowled since back in the day, back when there were bumpers in the gutters and everyone won and we all got cake. A couple weeks ago, we decided to go bowling again. Guess what? It was really freakin' hard.
The damn ball - which is pretty heavy, think we started with a 12-pounder - won't go straight. Pretty sure the lane is waaaay to long. So we decided we'd get a lighter ball. Problem solved, right? Nope. Do you know how hard you have to throw an 8 pound bowling ball to knock over all - or even most - of the pins? Neither do we, because we can't throw it that hard. We were feeling like bitches.
Needless to say, we sucked. Bowled like a 116 in our best game. For those of you unfamiliar with bowling, that's bad. We were awful. Our self esteem wasn't exactly soaring. So when we heard this story, we felt like absolute bitches.
Michael Tang bowled a perfect game, and he's 10 years old. Ten! What grade is that, third? In third grade, we could barely get a basketball to the rim, and this little kid just bowled a perfect game in a sanctioned event. I bet he can even do this spin thing, too, which if we would have tried would have snapped our wrist in three places.
At least the little spin thing would explain how he could knock over all the pins with an 8 pound ball, unlike us. Oh, he used a 16 pound ball? Twice the weight we could handle?
Oh.
We are bitches. Ouch.
