Hall Of Fame Voters Shoot An Airball

Not since the almost three hour bore-fest that was There Will Be Blood was voted as best picture have I been this angry about a human vote. Reggie Miller not a Hall of Fame finalist? This must be a joke right? Chris Mullen, Dennis Rodman and others are finalists and Reggie freaking Miller is not?!?! How can that be? I may be possibly the most bias person on this issue without the last name “Miller”, beings as Reggie is my all-time favorite athlete, but this is a travesty. That’s right, I used the word “travesty”. (On a side-note, my Grandma’s maiden name was coincidently “Miller”. Caused many fights with me and my parents on why she couldn’t keep that name and they could have named me Reggie. True story.)

The arguments against Reggie are the same ones we have heard for years. All he could do is shoot. He has the 3-point record only because he attempted more than anybody in NBA history. He only started an all-star game one time. His highest scoring average was 24.6. He never won a ring. People love to nit-pick Reggie. By digging deeper into these shallow arguments, you will find they hold no water.

He sure could shoot, but it wasn’t the only thing he could do. Reggie was not as bad of defender as he was made out to be. This was actually talked about a lot towards the end of his career. Both coaches and players said how he had improved his on-ball defense from what he started at. Even if his defense was sub-par, and I’m not saying it was great but it wasn’t awful, how many long range shooters and primary scorers work as hard as Reggie did, into their 30’s none the less, to improve their defense? Not many that I can think of. The comparison for defensive acumen that I can think of is Ray Allen. Allen was a terrible defender in Milwaukee and Seattle. He has become better in Boston for two reasons, 1) he is trying harder on defense instead of focusing on his offensive game so much, and 2) when he does get beat, he has KG, Perkins, Shaq and other big bodies to help on the drive. Not to mention, Rondo is a premier defensive player, allowing Ray to guard the weaker of the two guards. Reggie improved his defense almost every year by diligent work in the off season.

Could he rebound, pass or dribble? Sure he could. Per game, he only averaged three boards, three assists, and 1.1 steals per game, but, does anybody who actually watched Pacers games, instead of just looking at stats, remember how towards the ends of the game Reggie would seemingly ALWAYS come up with a defensive rebound, allowing him to be the one with the ball so he could take his often over 90% free throw shooting down to the other end to ice the game? Reggie found a way to get the rebound or make the pass his team needed late in the game, and he did it time and time again. As far as ball-handling, he did come off of screens a lot looking for a pass and shot, but he also created his own shot more often than most remember. One of my most memorable Reggie moments was in the 2002 Playoffs against the Nets when, late in the game, Reggie caught the ball at the top of the key and instead of taking the three that everybody expected, he drove the land and threw down a hard two-handed slam to take the air out of the Nets and get the entire Pacers bench on their feet. It was a one of many magical Reggie moments that are forgotten so easily because of his other heroics.

The 3-point record, the one he lost last week to Ray Allen, is a better accomplishment that it may seem. Many people in the press the last week or so who have been praising Ray Allen have seemed to be missing the fact that Reggie didn’t shoot that many more than Ray. I have heard how Allen now has the 3-pointers made record, and hasn’t attempted as many as Reggie. The differential of their career 3-point average is a whopping .003. Yes that is correct. Ray Allen is a career .398 3-point shooter. Reggie Miller is a career .395 3-point shooter. I am by no means taking anything away from Ray Allen. He deserves the record, he has worked hard and he has been a fantastic shooter throughout his career, but he difference between he and Reggie is next to nothing. The main difference I see is that Reggie Miller never played on a team where he was a second option. I suppose he could have been considered a second option in his final few years when Jermaine O’Neal became the star for the Pacers, but defensives knew who they were not going to let beat them. Ray Allen has the advantage of playing his fourth year with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Pierce, like him or hate him, is probably more likely to take a game winner than Allen. Reggie was always the focal point of the opposing team’s defense, and as far as I am concerned, will always be the 3-point king.

It is true that Reggie Miller only started in one measly All Star game. He must have had some bad years to not even be considered a starter. Wonder who started over him in that era? Oh, right, it was MICHAEL JORDAN! As I said at the outset, I have a bias when writing about Reggie, but I am also realistic. I know Michael Jordan was a better basketball player than Reggie Miller. The fact that Reggie Miller only started one all-star game is a complete non-issue on how his career should be remembered. He was stuck behind the greatest basketball player of all time, playing the same position in the same conference for almost his whole career. That one is just bad timing for Reggie.

His highest season scoring average was only 24.6 ppg. This would be the most valid argument against Reggie being voted into the Hall Of Fame, if it was called the Hall of Scoring. First of all, remember that for a career, Reggie Miller scored 18.2 ppg against the best players in the world guarding him. He also only committed 1.7 turnovers per game and 2.0 personal fouls per game. One thing he didn’t do was hurt his team when not scoring the ball. I never remember a game when Reggie was not scoring well, that he wasn’t helping the team win the game. His biggest flaw was bad shooting nights. That happens to everybody. Reggie was calm enough to not hurt his team in other ways, and still be able to shoot at the end of games. Whether he scored 30 a game or 18 a game, the opposing team would much rather see almost anybody in the world taking that last shot.

Now for my favorite argument: he never won a ring. This is a true statement. It kills me every time I hear it, but it is true. There are so many sub-plots to this point that I could talk for days about it. Since they switched from the ABA to the NBA, the Pacers were a terrible franchise. Reggie took this team, put it on his shoulders and made it a perennial Eastern Conference contender. He took the Pacers to six Eastern Conference Championships and one NBA Finals. Yet, he won no ring. I would like to present what I think is the most overlooked sub-plot in bad refereeing history: The storied Lakers-Blazers Western Conference Finals Game 7 of 2000. The Blazers had a huge 4th quarter lead, and due to bad refs and bad play by the Blazers, the Lakers made a monumental comeback and won the series and went on to beat the Pacers in six games in the finals. The victim of this fateful game is always thought of as the Blazers. It was not the Blazers, however, it was the Pacers! If the Blazers had held on, they would have met the Pacers in the Finals. Do you know how the Pacers did against Portland that season? They won both games. Won in Indiana and in Portland. The Blazers were a far better matchup for the Pacers, because they didn’t have a young Kobe or a Shaq at the top of his game. I know anything can happen, but the Pacers would have won that series. Yes, I am telling you right now, 10 years later, if the Blazers hadn’t choked, Reggie Miller would have a ring.

The other two “what if’s” concerning the ring question are: what if Michael Jordan hadn’t returned from his first retirement? The Pacers would likely have had at least one ring during the Bulls’ second 3-peat. And finally, what if Reggie had returned from retirement to play for a contender? He easily could have returned for the 2007 version of the Lakers, Mavs or Celtics. The Celtics were supposedly in serious talks with Reggie. When all was said and done, Reggie couldn’t pull the trigger. Why? Because he simply couldn’t see himself wearing any other jersey than the one saying “Indiana” on the front.

Reggie Miller is considered by many as the best shooter to ever play in the NBA. Many of his last game heroics are forgotten because his greatest late game heroics are so great. ESPN made a documentary about his dominance over one team in the playoffs. Many people look at the rivalry he is best known for, with the Knicks, and think he was always some kind of punk who acted out all the time. Reggie played with a chip on his shoulder, but there is a reason other NBA players who played with Reggie had the upmost respect for him. That reason is that Reggie Miller is one of the most stand-up guys to ever lace them up. Just tonight, when Ray Allen was competing in the 3-point contest and Charles Barkley was heaping praise on who he called the “best shooter of all time”, and saying how he can’t remember any big shots Ray Allen had hit, but remembered numerous big Reggie shots, Reggie broke in and changed the subject back to Ray’s performance in the contest. The only time Reggie wanted the attention on him was when he was on the court.

Reggie retired and stayed retired. He never wanted any special attention paid to him post-retirement. He didn’t return to play a role on a title contender. He had already been a “role player” of sorts when he attempted to groom Jermaine O’Neal to become the face of the Pacers. In his last couple years, Reggie attempted to put the focus on the young guys for the Pacers and mentored them like few NBA veterans would have done. He did it for the good of the Pacers organization, which he had so loyally played for his entire career. In a year where the sports media and fans alike have absolutely chastised LeBron James for showing no loyalty to Cleveland, the Hall of Fame voters have spit in the face of loyalty. Reggie Miller is as loyal of NBA superstar as there has ever been, and by not selling his identity to play for a title contending team he was denied a ring, and denied his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame.

Should Iowa have hired Pearl?

While sitting and watching Bruce Pearl coach Tennessee against Florida, in only his second SEC game of the season, I began to wonder if Iowa would have been better off making a major play for Pearl last Spring instead of hiring Fran McCaffery from Siena. I have always been a huge Pearl fan and feel he is one of the better in-game coaches in the NCAA. How else would you explain his knack for consistently winning games his teams are expected to lose? The question of Pearl versus McCaffery is a tough one with pros and cons on both sides. Here are three reasons Pearl would have been the right answer, and three reasons the Hawks are better off with Fran.

Yes, Iowa would have been better off with Pearl:

1) Pearl would have brought immediate national attention to the Hawks. Pearl is obviously well-known in basketball circles. He is on PTI frequently. He makes Sportscenter for his on-court antics and off-court activities, which include painting himself for a Tennessee women’s game. For the Hawkeyes basketball program, which has been lacking national attention since the Alford days, this might have been a shot in the arm. It would have generated not only interest in Hawkeye Nation, but also nationally, which is always good for recruiting.

2) Pearl is an excellent coach. Bruce Pearl has won wherever he has gone. He made a tournament run with Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then went to Tennessee and within a couple years had them ranked #1 in the nation. Pearl coached under Dr. Tom Davis and utilizes a Dr. Tom full court press, which Iowa fans would love. His style of play would have brought back memories of B.J. Armstrong, Dean Oliver and Jess Settles.

3) Recruits would be more inclined to come to Iowa if they had a coach with a national profile. Pearl has that national profile. He has proven he can turn a program around with not only sound coaching, but also with good recruiting. Although it may not always be legal, it is solid recruiting. I have no doubt in my mind that in a couple years, Pearl would land a couple big name recruits that usually would have had Iowa way down on their list of potential suitors.

Iowa is better off with Coach Fran:

1) Fran McCaffery has become the face of the program in less than a year. Coach Fran came to Iowa City and immediately started saying all the right things. He met with students in the dorms. He held a “Meet the Coach” night at Carver. He made the rounds on the I-Club tour, which Todd Lickliter never did. He addressed the problems facing Iowa head on and said what he intended to do to fix them. He also handled the returning players nicely, which is always a difficult task for a coach coming into a new situation. The giant cardboard Fran heads seen in the student section of Carver Hawkeye arena are proof of the effect Fran has had on the Iowa fan base.

2) Fran’s recruits may be as good, if not better than Pearl’s. After last week’s game at Indiana, Hoosier’s coach Tom Crean made some kind of statement about how Todd Lickliter deserves some credit for the Hawks playing better. I strongly disagree with Crean. I think Matt Gatens has regressed each year of his college career. Eric May has had a down season compared to last year. Both of them are Lickliter guys, even though Gatens likely would have came to Iowa no matter who the coach was. The Hawks three best players this year have been Jarryd Cole, who is an Alford recruit, Bryce Cartwright and Melsahn Basabe. Basabe and Cartwright were both players that McCaffery brought to Iowa City in the little time he had to prepare for this season. Basabe should be on the All-Big 10 freshman team. Cartwright has made Hawks fans completely forget about Cully Payne, which makes me happy. Between the two of them, they have energized the Hawkeyes from inside and outside. McCaffery deserves about 95% of the credit for the recent good play of the Hawkeyes. Alford gets 4% and Lickleiter gets 1%, for Brommer.

3) Pearl would have cost more money, and the recruiting violations would have followed him to Iowa. Pearl has never been said to have a squeaky-clean reputation, but it has taken a real hit over the last few months because of his recruiting violations. After all of the transfers from the basketball program and the problems on the football team, the last thing the University of Iowa needs is more off the court issues. McCaffery has avoided everything but good press, while I can’t promise the same for Pearl

I truly feel that Iowa made the correct decision in hiring Fran McCaffery. I was one of the people strongly pushing for Pearl last April, but since Coach Fran has been in Iowa City he has won me over, along with thousands of other Iowa faithful. I remember watching games last year and having only one or two friends to talk to about the game because nobody else watched. Due to McCaffery’s diligent work and fiery attitude, the Hawkeyes are playing better and filling up my inbox every game with texts from re-interested fans.

Super Bowl Running Diary

I’m doing a Simmons-style running diary for the Super Bowl. Everybody is doing it nowadays, so I don’t feel like I’m stealing any ideas. The difference is, most people can do live chats, I have to use a Word document. I’m old school. Anyway, the Hawkeyes went 2-0 this week for the first time in Big-10 play since the Horner and Brunner days, and the Pacers, under new coach Frank Vogel are 4-0, so it has been a fantastic week, minus the 18 inches of snow. Let’s get this diary underway. My prediction: Packers 27-20.


4:31 – Just sat down at my Moms house with my laptop, and realized she didn’t have wireless Internet. Googling anything is out of the picture today. Can’t really say who I’m rooting for today. I like Aaron Rodgers, I like Charles Woodson, and I like Mike Tomlin. I don’t like the Packers and I don’t really like Pittsburgh. I’ll probably cheer for the Packers today just because the Mother is a Pack fan. A happy mom usually equals free food for Geoffrey so that’s my goal.

4:47 – Bradshaw picked the Steelers. Big surprise. I’m picking Heath Miller to score the first TD, and the Christiana Aguilera National Anthem “brave” to be under the six seconds. Who would seriously bet on the National Anthem? That’s called a “gambling problem”.

4:52 – Pizza Hut is here. Just in time for the PSA about America courtesy of Colin Powell and Roger Goodell. I feel patriotic.

5:08 – The announcers are talking about the snow in Dallas. ESPN has been killing Dallas all week for using sand on the roads instead of salt. Dallas has an excuse, it never snows there. Iowa City however, in the middle of fucking IOWA, has no excuse for using sand and doing a God-awful job on their streets. I’m cutting Dallas some slack.

5:11 – Sam Elliott for the introductions apparently. Weird.

5:14 – Just saw another commercial for “Just Go With It” with Adam Sandler. I’m fairly certain I know exactly how that movie ends. I’ll save my money.

5:19 – Madieu Williams just won the Walter Payton award. This is the biggest Super Sunday win in Vikings history! I knew this was a good week.

5:20 - W is in the building! That is never a good thing.

5:22 – Aguilera for the National Anthem. I’m disappointed. I was hoping for the outfit from the “Dirty” video.

5:25 – Wow, she killed the 6 second bet. I had 11.5 seconds.

5:26 – I’m guessing Heads for the coin toss. Tails has to lose at some point.

5:27 – The game hasn’t even started and I’m sick of Glee. Damn you Fox. Damn you.

5:28 - This Michael Douglas commercial is very depressing. Less voice-overs and more parenting for Mr. Douglas would be advised.

5:31 – Your reign is over tails!

5:32 – My brother tells me, via his phone, that Michelle Beadle said on Twitter that Aguilera screwed up the words. My response was “I follow Michelle Beadle on Twitter too. Of course, I’d follow Michelle Beadle to the ends of the earth, so that is no surprise.”

5:36 – Three and out for Pittsburgh. Wasted a good kickoff return. I didn’t really agree with the play calling on the opening drive.

5:37 – Muffed punt. First lucky break of the game goes to Green Bay. I love the guys who walk in from 40 yards away and point their arm in their teams direction. You guys have really good eyesight. Perhaps after your NFL career you could be a fantastic referee.

5:39 – Bulaga starting for Green Bay. Nice to see at least one Iowa guy.

5:40 –First big play of the game goes to Donald Driver. I could see him having a real big day.

5:42 – Jordy Nelson just had his first chance to channel his inner Don Beebe and failed. The token white receiver play in the Super Bowl hasn’t happened yet.

5:50 – Boring first few drives. Steelers should stick with the run and the Packers should stick with the passing game, but we will see what they do.

5:57 – The new Faster and Furious movie looks just awesome. Then again, I would pay to watch the Rock play Vin Diesel in Scrabble, so fast cars only adds to it.

5:59 – Cameron Diaz was just on feeding A-Rod. Wonder if she injected his buttocks prior to the hand feeding.

6:00 – Jordy Nelson with the Beebe moment! What a throw from Rodgers and a catch from Nelson. Beautiful. Who bet on Jordy scoring the first TD? 7-0 Pack.

6:08 – An interception by Nick Collins and he is gone! Packers lead 14-0. Uh-oh Pittsburgh. This one is getting scare for the Steelers.

6:13 – Betting is getting out of hand at my Mom’s. We just found out someone we know is pregnant, and immediately took odds on boy or girl. I am putting one cent on Hermaphrodite. It pays out 1 million to one. I can’t turn down those odds.

6:15 – 1st quarter is in the books. 14-0 Packers. Steelers are driving though. Game is getting interesting. Bridgestone just came through with the 1st hilarious commercial of the night. The “reply all” commercial is in the lead.

6:16 – Annnnddddd Joan Rivers just made me throw up my queso dip. Thanks Joan Rivers.

6:18 – Just had a Leftwich sighting. That just did to Steelers fans what Joan Rivers did to me.

6:24 – When I get bored with this game I just squint and pretend the Steelers are Iowa. That usually makes me happy. Field goal Iowa. 14-3 Green Bay.

6:24 – Budweiser with a solid commercial featuring the mobster guy from Prison Break singing Tiny Dancer. Commercials are already better than last year.

6:34 – My sister on Joe Buck: “He is small. That is a big voice for a tiny guy”.

6:38 – Randal-El with a big catch. Haven’t heard from him for a while. I feel like the Steelers need to use Mendenhall more. He has been running well, and even Mewelde Moore had a good run or two. The passing game isn’t working right now. Run the ball Pittsburgh!

6:42 – Thanks for proving my point Jarrett Bush. Figure it out Steelers.

6:45 – After another big catch by Jordy Nelson, and then a TD catch for Greg Jennings. 21-3 Packers. This is getting out of hand quick. The Steelers insistence to stick with the passing game is proving to be their downfall. Now, being down 18 points with the 1st half winding down, they are forcing themselves to be a pass-first team in the 2nd half. This is not good for Pittsburgh.

6:57 – The Shields and Woodson injuries defiantly helped Pittsburgh on that drive. A TD pass to Hines Ward has the Steelers back in the game. 21-10 Pack. Is anybody else surprised that Hines Ward has a TD and Mike Wallace’s mohawk hasn’t don’t anything yet? He may in the 2nd half, but he has been non-existent thus far.

7:00 – 21-10 at the half. I would have liked to see Rodgers take a shot down field at the end of the half. I would like to see stats of the success rate of a team trying to do something with the last 45 seconds of a half instead of being conservative. I’d bet the odds that it totally backfires and helps the defensive team are under 5%. Grow some balls, playcallers.

7:22 – Another Super Bowl halftime show that was borderline disappointing. Slash and Usher were pleasant surprises. Fergie’s voice was very manly. Will.I.Am.’s headgear frightened me. The malfunction on the “V” of “LOVE” really drove me crazy. The dancers were alright. Overall I give it a C.

7:26 – Alright, we’re back to “Joe and Troy”. I’m glad me and Buck are on a first name basis.

7:33 – Back to football. James Jones just missed a touchdown. Gotta catch those passes in a game like this. Steelers get the ball back only down by 11. Still far from over.

7:41 – Steelers are pounding the ball on the Packers. The running game is working. Imagine that.

7:42 – Touchdown Mendenhall. The Steelers are right back in it. 50 yard drive, 50 rushing yards. This Charles Woodson injury is exactly what the Packers defense didn’t need

7:45 – I’ve been thinking about the halftime show. The highlight was when Slash appeared right? So why not scrap the Black Eyed Peas, so I feel like I’m watching a football game instead of a danceclub scene from Jersey Shore, and arrange a reunion with Slash and Axel Rose? Guns N Roses halftime show? It would be great.

7:59 – The Packers finally just got a sack. It is about time. How did it take almost three quarters for the Packers to get a sack on this depleted offensive line? Also, just saw a green #4 Favre jersey in the crowd. Guess when Favre came back from Mississippi with Hutch, Allen and Longwell he wasn’t lying about going to the Super Bowl this year.

8:00 - Now for a 52 yard field goal attempt…Awful. That was way off.

8:02 – If the Packers hold on to this win, could Jordy Nelson win the MVP?!? What were the odds on that? 40-1? 50-1?

8:05 – Big 3rd down for the Packers. The Steelers just burnt another timeout. They are down to one left. That could come into play later.

8:14 – The Packers are challenging the call of incomplete pass. The ref was talking to Mike McCarthy and his mic was on. Joe Buck: "The ref still had his mic on. Thankfully he turned it off...which will leave the call to the crowd”. Ummmm…. What? The crowd is making this call? Is this American Idol?

8:24 – HUGE fumble by Mendenhall. I guess that is the downfall of using the running game. Can’t complain though Pittsburgh. Big Ben did already have two turnovers.

8:30 – Painful drop by Jordy, followed by a huge catch by Jordy. Then a bad play call leaves it 2nd and goal on the 8.
8:31 – Touchdown Greg Jennings! Second TD for Jennings. Rodgers has moved into the driver’s seat for MVP. Big, big drive for the Packers.

8:40 – Flozell Adams just had a false start. He is usually good for one of those every game. My “good for a penalty a game” guy on the Vikes: Phil Loadholt. My Brother says Richie Incognito. Both good choices.

8:41 – Eight catches for Mike Wallace? I remember three of them. Where have I been?

8:42 – Nine catches for Wallace. Touchdown Wallace. Pitt going for 2, and it is good. 28-25. Love the call by Tomlin to go for 2. He is a tremendous coach.

8:44 – Why do teams insist on getting a two possession lead with around 10 minutes left, then playing some type of prevent defense, allowing a team to score in under three minutes, and then they are in the same position they were in a few minutes ago? It is so stupid to me. I know a lot of factors go into that trailing team scoring (more aggressive play calling and better blocking and whatnot), but the defense always seems to get more conservative, and therefore puts added pressure on the offense when they come back out.

8:48 – Highlight of the night: House commercial where he throws the cane. Just an awesome commercial. I love House.

8:52 – Rodgers to Jennings on 3rd and 10. What a pass by Rodgers. His best throw of the game by far. That slant has been open all night.

8:56 – Packers get a field goal. 31-25. Really could have used 7 there. 2:07 left in the game. I am really feeling a Pittsburgh drive to the red zone here. I’ve really started to pull for the Packers in this game.

9:01 – A huge play on the kickoff. First, the Steelers ran the clock down under 2:00, thus losing the 2 minute warning. Then, they got a 15 yard penalty. Big mistake for the Steelers. Now the Packers will probably play a prevent and let them get to the 20 like it is nothing. But, you never know.

9:06 – Incomplete pass on 4th down. Packers win! Rodgers for MVP probably? What a season for the Packers. So many injuries, so many setbacks. Got the 6th seed. Beat three powerhouse NFC teams on the road to get to the Superbowl. Lost their defensive leader in Woodson early in the game. Lose Driver early in the game. And still find a way to win. Good game. Good season.

9:08 – What a terrible year for Bret Favre.