Kobe Bryant was the leading vote getter. The reserves will be named on January 28th, as voted on by coaches. I expect Jimmy Butler, Andre Drummond and Draymond Green to be included, who were all snubbed from being starters (Thanks a lot, FANS.)
I am tired of the lazy “Millennials are soft” narrative.
Monday night, sports fans were treated to one of 2016’s early instant classics as #1 Kansas University went 3 overtimes to fend off Buddy Hield and #2 Oklahoma 109-106 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. It was one of the better regular season basketball games in a long time. Brent Musburger and Dick Vitale nearly lost their voices. It was a great time had by all, thanks to millennial athletes.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was busy doing his best Grandpa Simpson impression by blaming “Millennial Culture” for his team’s second to last place record in the Western Conference.
“My whole view of the millennial culture is that they have a tough time dealing with setbacks,” Sarver told the Arizona Republic. “I’m not sure if it’s the technology or the instant gratification of being online. But the other thing is, I’m not a fan of social media. I tell my kids it’s like Fantasyland. The only thing people put online are good things that happen to them, or things they make up. And it creates unrealistic expectations.”
It’s cool though, because local journalists are Sarver’s version of a Facebook wall to rant on, and his “instant gratification” are hot take sports talk shows like FOX Sports Live (I thought this was supposed to be a highlight show) with panelists echoing his sentiments…because none of them are millennials themselves.
On this particular FSL panel from Monday night, moderator Randy Travis led off the discussion with the typical “We all know Millennials are the most coddled generation…”, and I felt more compelled to change the channel than ever. Ironically, everyone on this panel was screaming “Let Johnny Manziel be Johnny Manziel” just beforehand.
I appreciate Sports Illustrated’s media reporter Richard Deitsch for pointing out exactly where I wanted to take this on Twitter.
The group in question is exactly the audience Fox Sports 1 is fighting for with ESPN too. Fox Sports Live was originally packaged to us as the “fun” sports show with entertaining highlights, anchors who get it (like Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole), and smart analysis. Instead, the network adds former ESPN First Take executive producer Jamie Horowitz – who brings Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock with (reasons millennial audiences wanted an alternative) – and we’re back to searching for something else again. ESPN then capitalizes by handing the late night SportsCenter reigns to their most millennial friendly talent, Scott Van Pelt.
In case you weren’t aware, the millennial generation covers people born between the early 80’s to the early 2000’s. These are impactful business owners (Mark Zuckerberg), soon-to-be college grads (Jack Gleeson aka Prince Joffrey from Game of Thrones), teenagers standing up for important causes (Malala Yousafzai), and kids who never saw Michael Jordan play live. They love nostalgia (reminiscing about 90’s Nickelodeon shows and NES cartridge games) and can’t wait for what’s next (standing in line around the block for the new iPhone).
Millennials are another young generation, shaped as much by previous generations as they are criticized by them. The people who can’t stand anyone younger than them actually gave birth to them and had the opportunity to raise them the way they wanted to. The irony is hilarious. Yet for every Phoenix Suns team, there’s a Golden State Warriors roster dominated by 20-somethings on top of the basketball world. The best player in the league currently and millennial athlete, Stephen Curry, had his game influenced by a specialist from the previous generation…his dad.
Obviously the disconnect isn’t limited to basketball, as Mr. Sarver generalizes. The old folks write pointed letters when Cam Newton dances in the end zone. They take to social media and sports talk radio when Jose Bautista flips his bat. Alas, when a millennial has something to say to defend their generation, they tell you to shut up and stop being so sensitive.
I remember that “wambulance” joke from Modern Family. It was funny the first dozen times the kindergartner on the show used it.
If the Suns are victims to “Millennial Culture”, then why are the current Chicago Cubs 7/1 World Series favorites with a projected lineup whose average age is 26? What the Suns are victims of is an organization and leadership that spends more time blaming everything but themselves for their own losing culture…and bad scouting.
Rather than sit back and criticize a generation for your problems, be proactive and either adapt or provide a productive solution. If you don’t like what you’re hearing, change the channel. Otherwise, this will be you someday.
Tuesday night, a new NBA season tips off with 3 games featuring the league’s biggest stars. TNT will feature a doubleheader with the Cavaliers and. Bulls in Chicago (7 PM CT), then the Pelicans visiting Golden State for the Warriors’ banner raising ceremony (9:30 PM CT). Also facing off will be the Pistons and the social media savvy Atlanta Hawks. Sure it will all be going on before the World Series, but that’s what sports bars are for with multiple monitor setups.
A new season means new storylines and intrigue that only the NBA can produce. The defending champion Warriors are very much the same team, built to score plenty and defend as well as anyone. The Spurs Big-3 (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker) have one last ride (at least) in them with rising superstar Kawhi Leonard and newly added LaMarcus Aldridge. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving still rule the Eastern conference, but the Bulls are playing the Star Wars “rebel” role with a healthier Derrick Rose and new head coach Fred Hoiberg. Don’t forget Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have a new coach too…
There’s plenty of drama I could go on about and plan to cover for each team, but for now we’ll just make some predictions for who will be making the playoffs and who will be taking home hardware by the end of the 2015-16 season.
When Michael Jordan talks, people listen.
At his 20th “Flight School” Camp in Santa Barbara, Jordan took the mic for a Q&A session…and it was everything an MJ fan would want it to be.
If you had to win one game, who would you want coaching: Phil Jackson or Dean Smith?
“Dean Smith…Phil was lucky because I was taught the game by Dean Smith.”
What did you think when Shaq said the All-Time Lakers could beat the Bulls’ greatest players?
“I just felt like he was just talking (Jordan shrug)…The thing is, we’d never know. I think we would’ve killed them…It’s just a debate”
Who would you choose to go one-on-one with between Stephen Curry or LeBron?
“Right now? I would go against StephON (I love that he calls him Stephon) because I’m a little bit bigger than he is so I could back him down…but LeBron’s too big.”
Who would you add to Team Jordan?
“Any sport?…I’m a big fan of Mike Trout. But he’s Nike. I can’t steal Nike’s guys.”
If you were in your prime, could you beat LeBron in a one-on-one game?
“This is the ESPN Question. I know it’s going to be all over ESPN…(longer pause).
No question.”
Cue another Jordan shrug.
MJ’s also a big Robin Thicke fan, apparently.
Jordan wasn’t wrong about the LeBron one-on-one question. It went viral in minutes. I haven’t even flipped on ESPN yet today, but it’s easy to guess what they are talking about.
I personally hate the debate. Jordan said so himself, while responding to Shaq’s nonsense, we’d never know because they won’t ever play each other in their prime. I also think people who get hung up on the debate don’t allow themselves the opportunity to appreciate what LeBron has accomplished.
What we forget is that the younger generation today didn’t even see Jordan play in a Chicago Bulls uniform. Kids going into high school weren’t even born yet, and neither were the kids who sat around Jordan at the Q&A. So when you hear rumors of a Space Jam sequel potentially happening, isn’t it logical for LeBron to star in it since most kids today grew up watching him play instead of Jordan?
Here’s the video to most of the Q&A and it’s definitely worth the watch.
michaelpiff 