Donald Sterling Thoughts

With the NBA playoffs being in full swing now, the league should be thriving with ratings and positive publicity since the product has been great so far.  Even a diehard fan such as myself has been surprised with the blowouts, buzzer beaters, clutchness, and overall play of every team from seeds 1-8.  It's a great time to be following the NBA.  That is, until yesterday, when Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made many racist comments recorded on tape about minorities, how he didn't want them at games, thought of them as animals, etc.  I'm giving the lighter version of it since I can't sum it up with the phone message being so long, and listening to this guy speak is just sickening.

Usually, I wait for all the facts to come out when I judge a person, but I won't this time because Donald Sterling has a history of being a bigot.  Ask former players like Elgin Baylor and Baron Davis who used to play for him what type of person he is, and they'll tell you how they used to get scrutinized.  In the year 2014, I know that racism is alive and it still exists, but I like to think that we've made some progress from the past, when racism was running rampant.  The NBA markets itself as a global game for everyone, and I think they do a good job when you see all the different types of players in their game today.  They've come a long way since then, which is why it's a shame what Donald Sterling said came to public since it makes the league look bad.  Not to mention, his comments make it seem as though he views minorities as animals, saying you can "feed them" or "sleep with them", but not bring them to games.  What an ignoramus if that is how he truly feels!  We're all human beings!  And even though the Clippers players are all mixed in terms of race and ethnicity, I'm glad they're all outraged because it shows how strongly they feel, and shows that racism has no place in sports.  It might be a few days until we figure out what the penalty is for Donald Sterling, but hopefully the penalty is severe, or as another Donald says, "YOU'RE FIRED"!

One last thing I want to interject (which is my own opinion) is everyone disses baseball for there being a lack of African-American players, but you never see stuff like what happened with Donald Sterling happen in baseball.  I'm not denying it doesn't happen; I mean, look at Marge Schott or how often the race card was played whenever Barry Bonds was questioned.  It exists, but I feel like the culture in baseball doesn't promote as much discrimination currently.  Look at the NBA and NFL, the race card is played all the time, they say the N-word like it's nothing, and there's gang affiliations.  I'm not saying having those things makes sports worse because I still love those sports, but I think when a sport has all those things, we shouldn't be surprised of anything anymore.  Racism shouldn't have a place in sports, but Donald Sterling isn't the only one who feels the way he does.  And sadly, it still exists in the world, which I don't think will ever change. 

Chris Paul For MVP!

CP3 doing what he has always done, lead a team.  But he never seemed to get enough publicity in New Orleans

Chris Paul has been one of my favorite players in basketball ever since I saw him play college ball at Wake Forest.  When he was entering the draft, I was hoping the Celtics could get him somehow, but I knew it was impossible considering where they were slotted.  History being what it was, he was picked by the New Orleans Hornets and had some great years there.  He won Rookie of the year in 2005-2006, and even had an MVP type season in 2007-2008 when he lost to Kobe Bryant (an award I think he still should of won).  He got injured, and slowed down a bit in 2009-2010, but came back strong the next season almost upsetting the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.  After that season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and made an impact instantly with Blake Griffin and their young nucleus.  He had a good first season with them, but they lost badly in the playoffs.  This season still has quite a few games left in it, but if you ask me, the MVP of the season isn't LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Tony Parker, it's CP3.

Many of you reading this may think I'm bias picking Chris Paul for MVP, but I don't think I'm wrong in doing so.  Yes, LeBron is having his best season by far numbers wise (One we've never seen before), Kevin Durant is scoring for a top Thunder team, and Tony Parker has the Spurs as the top team in the West, but look at the role Chris Paul plays.  He plays point guard, which is the most vital position in the league, is one of the top assist men, top steals guy, etc.  His numbers aren't up there with LeBron or Kevin Durant, but they play with other superstars on their team, which makes things easier.  LeBron has Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen while Kevin Durant has Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.  Yes, Chris Paul has Blake Griffin, but he's overrated in my opinion.  He's a scorer, but all he can do is dunk, and he's not even averaging 10 rebounds a game this year.  This is the season when Chris Paul has mattered the most, and it's not just his numbers, it's the team's numbers.

The Clippers play better with Chris Paul leading their offense and defense, and they win more games with him.  Look at the numbers.  When Chris Paul was healthy, the Clippers were leading the NBA in wins, but when he got injured, they plummeted.  Yes, this could happen with any team, but it hasn't with the other teams, and even if it did, they have other superstar's, so that just makes Chris Paul's value larger.  Plus, he is being such a great leader on and off the floor.  I know you could say that for a lot of players, but Chris Paul mentor's all the young players on his team, which is vital for any team's growth.  The knock on Chris Paul may be that he's been too injured for MVP considerations, but the numbers don't lie.  The Clippers are better with him, and are a true threat to any team for that NBA gold as long as he's at the helm.  And in the end, isn't that what MVP is all about?

CP3 has been captain of the Clippers ship this year.  When he's healthy, they're tough for anyone to beat