So long Ben Wallace.
I have received a magnitude of e-mails and verbal requests asking that I write something in response to what many Detroit sports fans are referring to as black Monday. In a span of about 10 hours the city of Detroit lost two of it's biggest icons. Steve Yzerman retired, and Ben Wallace told the Pistons that he would be signing a contract to play basketball with the Chicago Bulls.
You all know that I am not a big hockey guy. The strike a year ago might have been the happiest year of my life. I enjoyed immensely the opportunity to watch the NHL go down in flames. That being said, there are very few athletes that I respect more than Steve Yzerman. The guy was a class act for every second that he spent in the league. He has been a staple of Detroit sports since he first stepped foot here in 1983. He had everything you wanted in a star, loyalty, humility, respect and love for the game. He gave it his all his entire career and is now walking away from the sport on his own terms. Even an anti-hockey guy like me will miss Steve Yzerman.
Then there is Ben Wallace. I want everyone to take a step back, breathe a deep breath and tell me that if you were in his position that you wouldn't do the exact same thing. One of the first rules of sports fandom is, 'Don't fall in love with the player...fall in love with the team." The Pistons will continue to be the Pistons without Ben Wallace. And no one should have any animosity about this. I believe there is actually cause for optimism (more on that later).
There is no one more hypocritical than the sports fan. They flip-flop more than John Kerry and David Mulder combined. When you win, they love you, when you lose, they get fed up with things, and when you leave a town that loves you, they want Jigsaw and his new sidekick from Saw II to capture you and toss you in the basement with that cop who was mean to his kid. But they so rarely look at things from the player's perspective.
Ben Wallace came to Detroit as an absolute nobody. In fact, since we traded Grant Hill for no name's like him and Chucky Atkins, people were as mad when he came here as when he left. He is from some small town in Alabama, went to Junior College for a couple of years, and then to Virginia Union so he could play football and basketball. Undrafted after his senior year, he bounced around the league before he was traded to the Pistons. And then he took off.
He became an NBA star and the icon of one of its best teams. He went from a guy that no one wanted to a guy that had little white kids buying fake afros to look like him. He won Defensive Player of the Year awards, was the team captain and even led his team to an NBA Championship. He was a self-made player that citizens of blue-collar Detroit fell in love with...but remember, that's against the rules.
Ben has pretty much done everything he could have in Detroit. There is nothing left for him to do here. And he decided it is now time to move on. Sure the Pistons offered him 48 million dollars, but guess what...the Bulls gave him 60 million (I actually thought the Pistons offer of 48 was WAYYYY to high). Ben is 32, and knew this was the first and the last time in his life that teams would be fighting over him. It was his first and only really big payday. Sure, he is probably set for life because of basketball, but now his kids are, and their kids to follow. And we are supposed to be mad at him for leaving? How selfish is that? I argue that any of us would do the exact same (and if you don't believe me take a drive to the closest casino and watch all the people gamble what they have already earned/won for more money that isn't even guaranteed...Ben's contract is guaranteed).
(The sad thing is that there will be a fair share of people that boo him on his return to the Palace)
Farewell to Ben Wallace, I wish you the absolute best. Thank you for your time and efforts as not only a Detroit Piston but as a leader and role model for the city.
Now, briefly, I address the Pistons without Ben Wallace. Seriously people, what exactly are we losing? Does anyone remember how poorly he played in the playoffs? Last season he gave us 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1.5 steals and 75 ulcers a game (Keep in mind, I am a huuuuge Ben Wallace fan). The
guy is CLEARLY on the downside of his career. I can only remember one block this year that made you stop and say 'wow' (block on Shaq in game 5 of playoffs).
The NBA is changing into an offensive league, it's obvious and true. More fouls are being called on physical and aggressive defenders. Not only is Wallace a physical and aggressive defender...that's ALL he is. I can say with confidence that he is the worst offensive NBA player I have ever seen (possibly worst ever). Also, the Pistons have, by far, the best training staff in the NBA (any league exec will tell you this) and few people have benefited from this more than Ben Wallace. There is a good chance he doesn't even make it through the year.
So make like a tree...and get outta here Chicago!
I have received a magnitude of e-mails and verbal requests asking that I write something in response to what many Detroit sports fans are referring to as black Monday. In a span of about 10 hours the city of Detroit lost two of it's biggest icons. Steve Yzerman retired, and Ben Wallace told the Pistons that he would be signing a contract to play basketball with the Chicago Bulls.
You all know that I am not a big hockey guy. The strike a year ago might have been the happiest year of my life. I enjoyed immensely the opportunity to watch the NHL go down in flames. That being said, there are very few athletes that I respect more than Steve Yzerman. The guy was a class act for every second that he spent in the league. He has been a staple of Detroit sports since he first stepped foot here in 1983. He had everything you wanted in a star, loyalty, humility, respect and love for the game. He gave it his all his entire career and is now walking away from the sport on his own terms. Even an anti-hockey guy like me will miss Steve Yzerman.
Then there is Ben Wallace. I want everyone to take a step back, breathe a deep breath and tell me that if you were in his position that you wouldn't do the exact same thing. One of the first rules of sports fandom is, 'Don't fall in love with the player...fall in love with the team." The Pistons will continue to be the Pistons without Ben Wallace. And no one should have any animosity about this. I believe there is actually cause for optimism (more on that later).
There is no one more hypocritical than the sports fan. They flip-flop more than John Kerry and David Mulder combined. When you win, they love you, when you lose, they get fed up with things, and when you leave a town that loves you, they want Jigsaw and his new sidekick from Saw II to capture you and toss you in the basement with that cop who was mean to his kid. But they so rarely look at things from the player's perspective.
Ben Wallace came to Detroit as an absolute nobody. In fact, since we traded Grant Hill for no name's like him and Chucky Atkins, people were as mad when he came here as when he left. He is from some small town in Alabama, went to Junior College for a couple of years, and then to Virginia Union so he could play football and basketball. Undrafted after his senior year, he bounced around the league before he was traded to the Pistons. And then he took off.
He became an NBA star and the icon of one of its best teams. He went from a guy that no one wanted to a guy that had little white kids buying fake afros to look like him. He won Defensive Player of the Year awards, was the team captain and even led his team to an NBA Championship. He was a self-made player that citizens of blue-collar Detroit fell in love with...but remember, that's against the rules.
Ben has pretty much done everything he could have in Detroit. There is nothing left for him to do here. And he decided it is now time to move on. Sure the Pistons offered him 48 million dollars, but guess what...the Bulls gave him 60 million (I actually thought the Pistons offer of 48 was WAYYYY to high). Ben is 32, and knew this was the first and the last time in his life that teams would be fighting over him. It was his first and only really big payday. Sure, he is probably set for life because of basketball, but now his kids are, and their kids to follow. And we are supposed to be mad at him for leaving? How selfish is that? I argue that any of us would do the exact same (and if you don't believe me take a drive to the closest casino and watch all the people gamble what they have already earned/won for more money that isn't even guaranteed...Ben's contract is guaranteed).
(The sad thing is that there will be a fair share of people that boo him on his return to the Palace)
Farewell to Ben Wallace, I wish you the absolute best. Thank you for your time and efforts as not only a Detroit Piston but as a leader and role model for the city.
Now, briefly, I address the Pistons without Ben Wallace. Seriously people, what exactly are we losing? Does anyone remember how poorly he played in the playoffs? Last season he gave us 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1.5 steals and 75 ulcers a game (Keep in mind, I am a huuuuge Ben Wallace fan). The
guy is CLEARLY on the downside of his career. I can only remember one block this year that made you stop and say 'wow' (block on Shaq in game 5 of playoffs).The NBA is changing into an offensive league, it's obvious and true. More fouls are being called on physical and aggressive defenders. Not only is Wallace a physical and aggressive defender...that's ALL he is. I can say with confidence that he is the worst offensive NBA player I have ever seen (possibly worst ever). Also, the Pistons have, by far, the best training staff in the NBA (any league exec will tell you this) and few people have benefited from this more than Ben Wallace. There is a good chance he doesn't even make it through the year.
In case anyone is worried about the Pistons losing a leader...Chauncey Billups..enough said...
So I have one thing to say to all you people that think the Pistons are taking a step back this year and that the Bulls are now the better team, "screw you." I think they have the potential to be better than last year’s team. Nazr Mohammad will fill in nicely, Jason Maxiell is ready for some minutes...I want the season to start tomorrow so I can be vindicated here.
Remember that scene in Back to the Future III when Marty challenges Mad Dog Tannan to the stand-off. Marty drops his gun to prepare for the fist fight, and Tannan shoots him square in the chest, blowing him to the ground. Mad Dog looks around with this little smirk, saunters over to Marty, stands over his apparently dead body and then BOOM...Marty kicks him square in the marbles, jumps up and beats the living crap out of him with Mad Dog OBVIOUSLY ending up in the trolley of horse manure.
So make like a tree...and get outta here Chicago!
posted by The All-Manac at 12:36 PM
2 Comments:
You can't tell me that $60 vs. $48 million is the difference between his kids and their kids being set for life or not. He's already got $30 million in the bank from the last 6 years with the 'Stones and who knows how much more with the money he made before he came here, endorsements, and the money he makes with the investments he can make with that kind of money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying $12 million isn't a lot of money but it doesn't make that much of a difference to a man with that much in the first place in the grand scheme of things. I think him leaving tells us something about the Pistons as a whole: they forgot who they were when they won the 2004 title. I really believe their ego consumed them and lost them the title this year. I know there is a fine line between confidence and narcissism, but I think somewhere during their 64-win season they fell victim to arrogance. If you listened to Chauncey talk to the sideline reporters at halftime or after some of the games it was pretty obvious (and I love Chauce but its true). And what better barometer for how the whole team's attitude is than listening to their leader? Also there was the whole Wallace not going back into the game against the Magic toward the end of the regular season. Do you think the Ben Wallace of 2004, or any other year that isn't 2006, would have done that? Not a chance. (Going back to the main point, the 2004 Wallace wouldn't have left the Pistons either). Anyway, it really did them in during the playoffs starting in the Cavs series. If they just put the Cavs away instead of being forced to scramble for their lives and win in 7 then they would have been rested like the Heat were. So, let's assume that they hadn't been lost in their own egotism and put the Cavs away in 5. I will take a non-arrogant and rested Pistons team in Game 1 at home against the Heat any day. But, as it were, they were the overly egotistical (and now tired due to playing 7 games) team that they had grown into somewhere during the season. Who knows where it goes from there, but I like the that first version of the Pistons chances in the series, and we all know what happened to the latter version.
As for the Pistons having the potential to be better than they were last year, I think thats a huge stretch. Yes, we did see Tay-Tay blossom into a really fantastic all around player (I have to give you credit by the way, I remember you LOVING that pick when they made it). And obviously they still have one of the best backcourts in the game but I don't think they are the same caliber team as they were (although you are right, the people saying Chicago will be better than the them are crazy). He was just so much of a defensive factor, and its not like Nazr Mohammad is going to bring that much more offense to the table than Big Ben. Like we both agree, he's on the decline but that doesn't mean hes not still a great player and major factor right now (and will be for 2 of the next 4 years I predict).
Ok, on to a few more things. 1) I hate Dwayne Wade. If I had known that just being quicker than everyone else and getting to the basket and throwing up my hands and losing the ball at the slightest contact would get me to the NBA all I would have done my whole life is plyos. Ok, so that is an eggageration but damn man, its not that far off.
2)Lay off Kerry, especially in light of the current status of our country (and the world) under his opponent. Ok, sorry that was too easy.
I say briefly: Best! Useful information. Good job guys.
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