Stupid X 3

Two weeks ago, the Pacers pulled off a terrific trade, swapping Troy Murphy's expiring contract for veteran James Posey and a possible franchise point guard in Darren Collison. For the first time in a long time, things were looking pretty rosy for the Blue and Gold.

Days later, word leaked out about Lance Stephenson's altercation with his girlfriend with allegedly got way too physical. Now, a little over a week after that incident, Brandon Rush has been suspended for failing his third drug test.

Oh fate, why must thou spite thee?

The police blotter and the Indiana Pacers have been like chocolate and peanut butter for the better part of six years. We don't need to rehash all of the incidents during that time, but the fact that some Pacers are returning to their old ways has fans worried.

I don't even want to talk about Stephenson right now. It sounds really serious, and I'm sure we'll cross that bridge once we get there. But, as far as Rush is concerned, can you really be that stupid? He flunked his third drug test by coming up positive for marijuana.

In case you didn't know, the NBA doesn't go public with failed drug tests until it happens for a third time. The league doesn't even tell the team that their own player has failed a drug test until then.

Rush clearly has some talent, but he's looked lazy, disinterested, and immature during his two-year stint in Indiana. Think about the people that you know that smoke marijuana. Lazy, disinterested, immature - chances are that person employs all three of those characteristics. What especially troubles me about this incident is that by failing three times, Rush is clearly showing that he prioritizes weed higher than improvement on the basketball court. Why else would he risk a third failed test?

I doubt Rush will be straight-out released, but clearly the 2010-11 season is make-it-or-break-it time for his career. Considering the investment that Bird & Co. have put in him, I hope he doesn't let his opportunity go up in smoke. (Thank you, tip your waitresses!)

Frauds?

As you might've heard already, Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio called out the Reds during Thursday's show. He labeled Cincinnati as "frauds" because of their hollow 70-51 record which has mostly been aided by beating up on sub .500 teams.

Looking beneath the surface, Cowherd has a point.

The Reds entered Friday's action with a 49-23 record against teams below .500, and that includes a sparkling 29-11 mark against the Brewers, Cubs, Astros, and Pirates. On the flip side of that, Cincinnati is just 21-28 against teams with winning records, which includes a 5-10 showing against the Cardinals this year.

All of that being said, Cincinnati doesn't employ many of the other characteristics of a team that should be labeled as a fraud. Frauds generally don't bounce back from tough stretches, yet the Reds have done exactly that several times this season. They were swept in Seattle in June when they mustered just one run in the three game set. They responded by winning their next five games. After a four-game sweep in Philadelphia which included back-to-back 1-0 losses before the All-Star Break, the Reds began the second-half by winning four of five. What could've been a crippling sweep last week to the rival Cardinals, was quickly offset by Cincinnati's current six-game win streak. Fraud teams fold under the first sign of adversity (see: 2009 Red Sox, 2008 Cubs, 2007 Rockies, and 2006 Yankees).

Also, the Reds are dominating almost every major offensive category in the National League:
Batting Average: .272 (1st)
Runs: 593 (1st)
Hits: 1,122 (1st)
Home Runs: 135 (3rd)
RBI: 572 (1st)
OBP: .338 (2nd)
SLG: .435 (1st)

As much as we like to hype the Red Sox-Yankees head-to-head matchups, the AL East crown depends on how those teams do against Baltimore and Toronto. Would I like to see the Reds play better against top-flight competition? Absolutely. But, I don't think they should make any apologies for beating the teams they're supposed to beat.

How Far They've Come

The trade for Darren Collison is another move forward in what has been a three-year rebuilding plan. Has the progress been slow? Yes, but it's there. If you need any indication to how Larry Bird and David Morway are doing, take a look at the current Pacers' situation compared to almost three years ago:

2010-11 Depth Chart
PG Darren Collison, TJ Ford, Lance Stephenson, AJ Price
SG Brandon Rush, James Posey, Dahntay Jones
SF Danny Granger, Paul George, Mike Dunleavy
PF Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Foster, Josh McRoberts
C Roy Hibbert, Solomon Jones, Magnum Rolle

2007-08 Depth Chart
PG Jamaal Tinsley, Flip Murray, Travis Diener
SG Mike Dunleavy, Marquis Daniels, Kareem Rush
SF Danny Granger, Steven Graham, Shawne Williams
PF Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu
C Jeff Foster, David Harrison

Also take into account that before the start of the 2007-08 season, Murphy still had four years/$44M left on his deal, Dunleavy had four years/$40M left, and Tinsley had three years/$21M left. This season, Dunleavy is entering the final year of his deal ($10.5M), as are Ford ($8.5M), and Foster ($6.6M) - that's over $25 million coming off the books. Meanwhile, Danny Granger is the only Pacer signed past 2011-12 season.

Baby steps...

Double-Standard?

Over the past decade, as the Colts have risen to prominence and the Pacers have fallen victim to sub-.500 seasons and off-court issues, the dynamic in the city of Indianapolis has changed. Just ten years ago in 2000, this was still clearly a Pacers' town, and the Colts were still struggling to fill the tiny RCA Dome. The Indy sports-scene has done a complete 180 since.

It's not just the city's attitude towards the teams, but their attitude towards the individual players.

A perfect example of this is John Gill. Who, you ask? Gill is a low-level reserve defensive tackle, who recorded all of nine sacks last season, mostly during garbage time of the team's Week 16 loss to the Jets. He was arrested after being found passed out in a ditch drunk. He was charged with public intoxication, but that was later dropped (for no apparent reason).

I went on the IndyStar message boards today assuming that most Colts' fans would be talking about the strong message the team needed to send to the young reserve. Instead, what I read made my jaw hit the floor...

"OMG, a 20 something football lineman drinking? Say it ain't so!"

"Just because he was found intoxicated doesn't mean he is an alcoholic. He might have been on some type of medication that didn't mix well with the alcohol that could have caused this to happen. At least he wasn't driving."

"Wow! One drunken night out, no charges filed, nobody hurt, and all of a sudden the guy has to give up a whole year from his career and attend rehab?! A bit drastic!"

What people didn't mention was what possibly drove a guy on the cut-line to choose to get hammered drunk on the team's only off day of Training Camp? "Hammered" isn't even the right word. Being drunk enough to pass out in a ditch and (excuse my language) piss yourself in the process is way past a simple night on the town. People do stupid things - I get that. But what I don't get is when a person does something so idiotic that it's totally inexplicable.

Judging from the reactions of fans in this city over Pacers' players scrapes with the law, I can assure you that they would've been less forgiving had Gill donned the Blue and Gold. The comments section would be littered with references to "thugs", and how the entire team should either a) be thrown in jail, or b) move to a different city.

So, it's hands-across-Indianapolis for a 4th string defensive tackle, while Jermaine O'Neal is crucified for defending himself during the melee in Detroit.

What a difference a decade makes.

Not Learning from Mistakes

In a move that can only be described as "interesting", if not borderline-delusional, the Knicks are bringing Isiah Thomas back to the organization.

The wounds still haven't healed from Thomas' disastrous run as President/GM of the once proud franchise. After Scott Layden tore out the core of a Knicks' franchise that had been a contender throughout the 1990s, Isiah set the explosives around the foundation and lit the wick. In the aftermath, the Knicks were left to deal with the ridiculous contracts of players like Eddy Curry and Jerome James, while having several of their Lottery picks hastily traded away to stop the bleeding.
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To be fair to Thomas, he has shown an eye for scouting talent. This is the same person that drafted Tracy McGrady, Trevor Ariza (in the 2nd round), and David Lee 30th overall. However, there have been widespread rumors that Isiah could regain his throne should current GM Donnie Walsh step away from basketball after his contract expires in 2011.

If Isiah is just coming back as a consultant - fine. However, this is a terrible PR move for the Knicks who have been working for almost 36 months to dodge the label of "laughingstock" that they've earned thanks to a decade of futility.

Welcome Back, Slacker!

It dawned on me today that due to the craziness of the past few weeks, I haven't updated the blog. My apologies.

I was away for my sister's wedding in Connecticut, and have been hustling to put the pieces in place for the show for the upcoming football season.

I'll be back tomorrow with some Colts' talk.