Supreme Court – Roundtable Debate

By Guest Blogger John Manuel:

Time for another Sports Roundtable with the Justices. A couple justices
are on summer vacation this week. Please also let it be known that Stinger
in the first ever Supreme Court picked the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA
championship. Feel free to look it up.

1- If you are the GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA draft lottery
was just rigged for you to win…Who are you taking?

Bob – Does it even matter. Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, and Brandon
Knight are no Kevin Durant or Derrick Rose. Kyrie Irving will probably go
first and Cleveland will continue to be horrible. Let’s see, we have an
injury prone Duke player going #1. Hmmm. What could possibly go wrong? I
think the best player in the draft, but not saying he should go first, is
Chris Singleton, Florida State. He will have a long career in the NBA.

Gib – The knee jerk move might be to take Kyrie Irving, but I would take
Derrick Williams with the #1 pick. The guy is a winner and has a good
blend of speed and strength that should translate well to the pro
game. With the fourth pick I would take Kemba Walker. Really, I think
Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams are pretty close in terms of who to pick
#1, but if you have the opportunity to get a point guard like Kemba with
#4, it makes it easy to go for Williams at the top of the draft instead of
Irving.

Stinger – I would go with Kyrie Irving. He was pretty dominant as a
Freshman in the 10 or so games he actually played in. Derek Williams
should also be good but I would feel that Irving is the safer pick. Much
like when Chicago had to make the decision of Derrick Rose or Michael
Beasley. At the time it was pretty close, but obviously they made the
right call. I wouldn’t go with Enes Kantor. Nothing about his skills or
talent. It’s solely based on his judgments. The guy was begging to play
for the Wizards. He can’t be that bright. If Cleveland could pull off
that trade with Detroit and Minnesota and get 1 and 2, that would be ideal
for them and this question is a waste. It will probably happen since
David Kahn is a complete buffoon of a GM and Joe Dumars has seemed to lost
his magic touch.

2- Is Bernard Hopkins title victory at age 46 the greatest sports old guy
achievement?

Bob- Yes, but only if I cannot say Thorton Mellon’s Triple Lindy in Back
to School. Mellon had it all, pressure, theatrics, a son’s yearning for a
father’s love, and needing to beat a near flawless dive from Chas Osbourn,
who managed to bully every high schooler in the 1980s. Also, we got to
see Robert Downey Jr. as his at his absolute weirdness, made weirder by
the fact that his dad was a controversial TV talk show host that faked
getting beat up. Man, imagine the internet back then with those two. They
could have had a TMZ page to themselves.

Gib – For my money, I still have to go with Jack Nicklaus winning the
Masters at age 46 in ’86. It was the premiere event of his sport and
rather than fade on Sunday as his age would suggest he would do, he put
together a late round charge that ended with him shooting 65 and wearing
the green jacket yet again. He outlasted a leaderboard that included Tom
Kite, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson and Payne Stewart in the
top 10.

Stinger – Hopkins is impressive. So were Nicklaus, Couture, Foreman and
Nolan Ryan. I am leaning towards Al Unser, Sr. winning the Indy 500 at
47. I just saw the race a couple weeks ago on ESPN Classic. Have you
seen old people drive? I can’t go the 65 MPH speed limit on 895 every
morning. And Unser did it at 220 MPH for 500 miles. He wasn’t even
supposed to be in the race and only got in when a young driver got injured
in practice. Plus, he won pretty easily once a younger 28 year old
Roberto Guerrero stalled in the pits like a 16 year old learning to drive
stick. Back to Hopkins though. Sad to see that he used shi*ting on
McNabb to promote his fight. Surprised Anthony Weiner didn’t blame McNabb
for Weinergate. The poor guy gets killed by everyone wristband or no
wristband.

3- Who is more likely to suit up for a NFL team this fall? Carson Palmer,
Tiki Barber or neither?

Bob – Just when I thought these questions could not get any worse, now I
have to answer a multiple choice question that does not even have my
choice as answer. Answer D. All of the above. These two nobody’s will
play. Here is a question I have. Anyone want to hear my thoughts on Indy
500? Lacrosse championship? Best athlete twitter? Friday Night Lights
undefeated season?

Gib – I think Carson Palmer will end up playing somewhere other than Cincy
this year, but he will play. He’s definitely on the downside of his
career, but there are too many teams out there that have a desperate need
at quarterback. There is still a chance that stubborn owner vs. a
stubborn QB leads to a stalemate in which Palmer sits on the sidelines,
but I think this situation will shake loose and Carson will get his wish.
Tiki’s situation is interesting too. Thirty-six is pretty old for any NFL player,
but particularly a running back, but Tiki has two things going for him: 1)
he’s been on the shelf for a couple years so has not taken the physical
pounding of late, and 2) his twin brother is still getting it done in the
NFL, so the gene pool has proven to be strong. I think he still has a
chance to be a third down back in the NFL, but one thing concerns me:
desire. In Tiki’s case, it’s obvious he is coming back to the NFL simply
because his TV career has been a colossal flop. Teams may think twice
about giving him a chance because they aren’t quite sure where his head’s
at (ask his former’s Giants teammates what they think of him).

Stinger – Carson Palmer isn’t going to play for sure unless he breaks.
Mike Brown is crazy and will stick to his word. Anyone who passes on two
1st round picks for Chad Johnson should not be making personnel decisions
in the Lingerie League and for sure not in the NFL.

As for Tiki, he at least wants to play but it will be up to a team to give him the chance. I
am guessing someone will make him part of their 80 man camp roster. I
think he will have trouble making any roster at his age being a running
back. As we have seen so many running backs fade out by 30 and he is now
36. Maybe Jim Fassel brings him into the UFL. I am starting to think
though nobody plays. This is starting to get ridiculous and I am losing
hope on a season taking place.

4- What is the greatest dunk of all time? It can be Pro, College, or Nike
Camp Crawford facial on Lebron.

Bob – Really? Best dunk. I am sure our readers our sitting on the edge of
their seats waiting on this. Best dunks I have ever seen occurred when
Dunbar basketball Class of 1991 played my high school basketball team.
Maybe the best Maryland High School team ever, Keith Booth
(Maryland-Chicago bulls), Donta Bright (Syracuse), Michael Lloyd (UMass
final four team), Rodney Elliot (Maryland). From tip off to final buzzer,
it was an aerial dunking display that plays in my mind like a Blue Chips
montage. Probably the first time I ever saw a live dunk in a game

Gib – This is a tough one. For sheer beauty it’s tough to beat Dr. J. The
windmills, finger rolls and the foul line lift off in the first dunk
contest are all memorable. Julius Erving may have been the most graceful
athlete I’ve ever seen on the court. Michael Jordan’s dunks, on the other
hand, were pure intensity. Tongue out, face contorted, throwing himself
at the rim. For years Gatorade used footage of one his dunks at old Cole
Field House in one of their commercials and the famous switching hands
dunk/layup against the Lakers might be second on my list. But there is a
dunk by Vince Carter that beats them all. The 2000 dunk by Carter when he
was playing for Team USA against France is impossible to beat. He broke
down court as France’s 7 foot plus center was camped out in the lane.
Vince hurdled the Frenchman, who got a better view of Vinsanity than he
ever wanted, and slammed it home.

Stinger – For the longest time my favorite dunk was Michael Jordan in the
the NBA dunk contest. When he went from the baseline, double clutched and
threw it down hard. At first it seemed pretty normal until they showed it
in slo-mo. Jordan looked to be floating above the rim. Its #4 on this
video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkhYYvJvKuM
Also liked Tom Chambers nut-face on Mark Jackson and Scottie Pippen’s
nut-face on the ground over Patrick Ewing. But my favorite is back to MJ.
Gotta go with the 1991 playoff dunk in the Garden on Patrick Ewing. Sorry
Patrick, you got killed on the question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkEVn1VUBlE

5- Give a short eulogy for Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

Bob- Oh Yeah!!! What can I possibly say to this? Macho man was one of my
heroes. Devoted brother of Leaping Lenny Poffo, ex-husband of the beautiful
Elizabeth, master of the flying elbow, fashionista, major league baseball
player, and promoter of pork byproducts. I saw Macho Man win a 60 man
battle royal for a chance at Hulk Hogan. He was able to outlast, One
Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Junkyard Dog,
British Bulldogs, and Big John Studd. Actually, I am not sure of the
details, the thought of the a 60 man battle royal and my head racing from
drinking about a gallon of root beer, sucking down a 3 foot straw of
powdered sugar, and chewing on three pouches big league chew had me
slipping in and out of diabetic coma. All I know is that when the dust had
settled there was Macho Man as only he could, holding up his
Intercontinental Belt. Hulk Hogan was always the Top dog of the WWF, but
Macho Man was the one who marched to his own drum. He never seemed to be on
anyone’s side, good or bad. He disliked Hogan, just as much as he disliked
like Piper. He was not political like Sergeant Slaughter, but you knew he
was American. His battles with Ricky the Dragon Steamboat as must watch TV.

Gib- It’s a tragedy that louvered sunglasses and driving do not mix.

Stinger- Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known
to the world as Randy “Macho Man” Savage will always be one of the greatest
superstars the squared circle has ever seen. Savage won every major title
in the sport and did it with style, flash and pazazz that may never be
topped. “Macho Man” used a foreign object to win the Intercontinental
Championship from Tito Santana in 1986. Side note: Never like Tito
Santana. From that day Savage was a superstar. Savage will always own the
status of having the hottest valet of all time, Miss Elizabeth, may she
also rest in peace. Little known face is that Savage got into the rap
game in 2003. Although he was no Lil Wayne or Jay Z, “Be a Man” was
nominated for 3 Grammys. (Made the Grammy part up.) Macho’s colorful
costumes have since been honored by the Matzie as his normal Dewey Beach
Starboard gear. At the numerous graduations I have attended I hoped that
once when the entrance music was played, Randy Savage would come out from
behind the curtain but now that will never happen. To a Hall of Famer,
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage a Thank You and more importantly an “Ohhh
Yeahhh!”