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1. Derrick Rose said before the All-star break
that if he isn't 100 percent healthy that he wont play this year. But today he
participated in 5-on-5 drills for the first time. Do you think he should
shut it down or push it to comeback this season?
Spencer-
I think Derrick Rose is smart to keep
himself out of games for the rest of the season and work to comeback next year.
In retrospect it wouldn't be beneficial to the longevity of Rose's career
or the success of the Bulls to come back and rush his recovery. I relate
this to Stephen Strasberg last year where no matter what the circumstances the
Nationals were going to shut him down once he reached an innings limit.
Just like that scenario it is the idea that one season doesn't trump
a much longer future that lays ahead. When D-Rose plays at 100% Chicago
is arguably the third or fourth best team in the league. I think if he
waits it out and comes back next year ready to go, the Bulls will be back at that
level of competitiveness.
Zach-
I think it all depends on how he is feeling. I can understand the desire not to rush into the season if he isn't 100 percent. The fans aren't going to like it but I think even if he is feeling 99 percent, he should probably hold off on a return. Rose has had injury issues before, and at some pretty inopportune moments. He can help his team more if he limits the chances of him re-injuring his leg. It isn't like they need him to rush back either. The Bulls are sitting in 5th place in the East and the play-offs is far from inconceivable. They can afford to play the waiting game with the former MVP and even if that means he doesn't play this season, I think a completely healthy Derrick Rose is better for the team in the long run.
Ty-
Derrick Rose does not need to push it to come back in my opinion because although the Bulls are a great team with him, they cannot beat the Heat this year regardless unless they trade for another player who can take some of the offensive load off of him. If he can come back I think he should but if he isn't comfortable I don't really see the point. That being said Iman Shumpart has been back for almost a month now and he suffered his injury the same time Rose did so hopefully Derrick's comments were more about not rushing it then him not actually being close to ready. Although I don't think he should risk the future but taking very long to recover could be a bad sign by itself.
2. A lot was made about Danica Patrick winning the
pole positioning for the Daytona 500. Seeing that Danica Patrick hasn't won on
the the Nascar circuit do you think that she gets unfair media attention?
Spencer-
I don't see how she gets
unfair media attention I guess. This is a milestone in my opinion in a
lot of ways cause It shows how
the times are certainly changing and that anyone can make a splash in a
professional sport like Nascar. The media certainly promotes her in that
sense. The only place it could be considered "unfair" is in the
fact that the media does harp too much on her lack of winning on the biggest
racing stages more so than they may on other drivers. Being as the only
woman in the sport she certainly has a target on her back in terms of media
attention so her bar seems to be set that much higher. Nonetheless its
all about how you measure success. In some people's minds she has already
been successful regardless of wins because she has changed the game and shown
anyone can race in Nascar regardless of race, gender, background, you name
it!
Zach-
Danica Patrick has been getting unfair media attention since the day she joined NASCAR. I've never truly understood the fascination with her. For starters, she wasn't the first women in the sport (that was Sara Christian in 1949). We can't even say she has had a huge impact on the sport because we haven't seen a spike in female drivers yet. She hasn't won a race on the circuit yet. In fact, the highest she has ever finished is 4th. She is better known as a sex icon in Go-Daddy commercials, not for her driving accolades. It is impressive that she got the pole at the 500, but not because she is a women, just because it is hard to do. And don't look to hard into it. The last time a driver got the pole position at the Indianapolis 500 and actually win the race was 13 years ago. Based on previous performances, I can't see Patrick breaking that trend. I think she needs to win a race before I can say she is worth the media attention she gets.
Ty-
I am going to take the cop out answer on this one by saying that she is at most times overhyped but sometimes she deserves some of the spotlight she gets. This happens with black athletes all the time. Sometimes the first records that are thought about are how far black players have gotten in a sport opposed to just all players. This happens mainly in the NFL with black quarterbacks. Danica is a female in a sport with basically all males and it is probably the only sport where a women could have the chance to do what she could do. If a women was a Kicker in the NFL or the 12th man on the bench in the NBA that would be big news. That being said in those sports there are a certain physical dominance associated to why women and men usually don't play with each other. In Nascar that is not the case women are capable of driving better than men contrary to stereotypes and Danica has not really produced much. That also being said Nascar driving has to be extremely hard but the little success she's had doesn't really equal how much media attention she gets but I completely understand why.
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3. What was your impressions of the NBA All-star
weekend? Did you like the East vs. West theme? Do you think we need to fix the
Dunk Contest and which team do you think will have the best second half of the
season?
Of all the all-star breaks the NBA is the
most exciting, entertaining, and watchable, hands down. You have a chance
with the NBA all-star game to take some aspects of a game that get everyone
excited (sick passes, three pointers, and dunks) and make them individual
events for points. I think the theme of West vs. East is fitting and people
actually enjoy watching the events from Friday-Sunday every year. I
thoroughly enjoyed it. That being said I think the Dunk contest can be
fixed by more well known players. Obviously we are never going to get the
Lebrons, Durants and Kobes of the league to participate cause they are too
valuable to their team but for example when I guy like Blake Griffin did it it
was probably the most watched dunk contest in a while. I know Griffin is
now kind of big time now too but guys like that can participate and really help
bring up its viewership and enjoyment for fans. I think the strongest
teams such as the Thunder, Heat, and Spurs will have the strongest second
halves as far as records go. But if you're looking at best second halves
after the first half of the season a team may have had and competitiveness, I'm
honestly going with the Cavs. Since January 22nd the Cavs are 6-5
and have beaten the Thunder and lost by just one point to the Spurs.
They are proving to be competitive and giving some of the better teams in
the league a run for their money. I think they will streak late in the
season and although they are obviously out of the playoff picture at this point
they will prove to the league they are a team with a bright and competitive
future. Their record stands at 16-37 now but I believe they can finish
with 31 wins this year which would be 10 more wins than last season so everyone
can see they are getting better.
Zach-
All-Star weekend was fun to watch. It is always impressive to see athletes of All-Star calibur compete with and agaisnt one another. You get a chance to see some amazing plays multiple times in one night. We get to see match ups and pairings that we would rarely get to see in the regular season. Some of the pre-game stuff was a little over the top. I found myself saying "just start the game already" on more than one occasion. The East v West was fine. If I'm being honest, it don't really care how the teams are picked so long as I get to see good competition. I think the dunk contest has gotten a little to absurd with the props. I get that it's all about showmanship but it is starting to get distracting. Players are focusing more on props and less on dunks. They say we've seen it all and that is why players need extra objects to make it look cool. I get that, but you still need to make the dunk spectacular.
Ty-
I always watch the all-star break and usually enjoy it. I think that this years all-star game was pretty enjoyable to watch. The rising stars game was good although it was a blowout but it cool to watch young players as well as the celebrity game. In terms of the East vs. West thing on saturday, I think that it was pointless because no one cared about who won but I also think that it is good that the NBA is constantly thinking of ways to improve the weekend events. I think the dunk contest was good in the last round because the dunks were great. The problem that I think most people have is that our generations have seen so many dunks that seeing dunks that are obviously hard seem normal to us even though none of us watching could actually perform the dunk. Some how some way we need more creativity but that's a hard thing to ask for. I don't think bigger names like Lebron could help because I feel like Lebron is not an overly creative dunker and the hype for him is so high he could only disappoint. The best idea I heard about the all-star break was to have a 1-on-1 tournament or a 2-on-2 tournament for charity. I think that is a great idea, who wouldn't want to see Kobe vs. Lebron or Melo vs. Durant? The team that will have the best second half will probably be the Bulls if they get Derrick Rose back or Pacers who get Danny Granger back. The Pacers have become a legitimate threat to the heat with the blossoming of Paul George becoming an all-star. If George and Granger play well together they have a punchers chance to make the finals.
4. This years college basketball pool has been
labeled as poor but which college player do you think will be the #1 pick?
Spencer-
Zach-
I think it will come down to who has the first pick. Teams will focus on their needs when the draft order is released and since I can't really think of a definitive #1 pick, I think it is kind of a toss up. If I am throwing out a few names, I think Nerlens Noel, a C from Kentucky, has a good chance of being #1. Cody Zeller, a C from Indiana will definitely be up there as well. I also like Shabazz Muhammad from UCLA and Ben McLemore from Kansas. It's worth noting that all of these guys are freshman except Zeller who is a sophmore. This is a young class and I don't think another year in college would be detrimental to any one of their careers.
Ty-
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