Hip Hop is dead... or is it the NBA?

Now to continue from the last post I did mention that the great one, Greg Oden, is out for the next NBA season for the surgery in his knee. Now that is a great loss for Portland Trailblazers, and even greater loss for the NBA in total. Oh you didn't remember or follow it?

OK I'll refresh what went down in the off-season homies!

First, NBA suffered from the credibility crisis in form of the official referee's,
Tim Donaghy, involvement in point shaving, that is colluding with a mob to throw a game into the favour of the bet that was agreed upon before. In such a hand of referee a match, or two, can be determined well beforehand in the knowledge of those who made the bet, and the call. Finally the FBI got the hang of it and came in to arrest the bugger. If in doubt please look at the Spurs v Suns 2007 playoffs. You get the idea...

Second, the 2006-2007 NBA Finals was a blow out. Put it eloquently it was 'shit'. The lowest rating NBA finals that have ever been watched by lowest number of spectators. Now that trigger an alarm for the No. 3 spot for the biggest sport in USA, hell NCAA probably was more interesting than 'Le Broom' of the NBA Finals where Spurs swept Cavs 4-0. It was due to the big imbalance of the West and the East Conferences in the NBA.

Third, Mr. Kobe Bryant's big mouth got the best of the league's attention. Not only calling his general manager 'an idiot', his teammates 'are useless' in his eyes, and that he wanted out; he did it on the national radio broadcast and in front of amateur cameraman that put the whole thing on YouTube! Sure we had had this episode with him and Shaq before but it was never publicly revealed. Now, during the midst of bad public relation of NBA, the leading scorer of the league just slam another nail in the coffin. Surely it cannot get any worse...

And then came the recovery, the most exciting college draft since Lebron James, that has the future talent Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Former a 7-foot centre, a la Bill Russle-esque, and latter the mobile forward, a la Michael Jordan-esque.

Now that I mentioned Jordan, and that Portland with the first pick did choose Greg Oden, there is an obvious comparison in the history. Portland picked a 7-foot centre Sam Bowie before Chicago's 2nd pick of Michael Jordan. Then the rest was history. Sam Bowie becomes disillusioned with Portland and injured himself for most of the time while Jordan became, well, Jordan - the most successful, athletic, recognizable, and the best (I think, and not many would argue with me here I guarantee) basketball player ever.

So now that Greg Oden, Portland's first pick of the big man like before, injured himself for the rest of the season, who would have expected?

Well not the Portland Trailblazers and definitely not the NBA who had its hope high on making the league the most prestigious and credible again after so many scandals in the off-season. Instead of the first game of Portland v San Antonio where it will pit the most dominant big man in NBA, Tim Duncan, against that rising star big man, Greg Oden, it will only turn out to be San Antonio ripping apart Portland 'Jailblazers' (as they were known for their players' involvement in drug, cash, and hoes). So much so for the publicity stunt.

So what would it take to get NBA back to the good ol' days? KG and Ray Allen's trade to Celtics? Yi Jilian's refusal to play for the Bucks? Reggie Miller coming out of retirement? Hahaha... sorry got to laugh for the last one....

Well no matter what I still be watching it. Now though with an ever-careful eyes for the decision made by the refs. No more travelling for you King James!!

And really I was hoing to talk about the dead of Hip-Hop... Oh well that would be the next blog that would come around real soon! (Apologize for those that keeping the hip-hop thing real like Common, Kanye, and Lupe Fiasco)....