By JIMMIE TRAMEL Sports Writer on Jun 19, 2012, at 3:46 PM Updated on 6/19 at 4:08 PM
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
Never mind that Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley are deceased. They’re going to help out with tornado relief.
Beggs High ...
This is a blog about whether modern-day athletes want to be coached old-school hard.
But first, let’s talk about a quote ...
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson would like to supplant Emmitt Smith as the all-time leading rusher in NFL ...
Serge Ibaka allegedly speaks five languages, at least one of which I can’t spell or pronounce.
He’s not stupid.
“Stupid” was the word LeBron James used after a reporter relayed to him that his defensive prowess had been called into question by Ibaka.
James has since clarified that he wasn’t calling Ibaka stupid. He was calling this process stupid: Media person hears something that sounds like bulletin board material. Media person takes that quote and repeats it to the “target” to see if that person wants to have any kind of reaction. And, even if that person says “I don’t want to dignify that with a response,” you’ve still got a story.
Is the he-said, she-said media tactic stupid? Not if you want to get your story read. And the Ibaka-James mini-drama (already in the process of being defused) has been a big talking point in public opinion forums.
But let’s get back to the s-word.
Ibaka isn’t stupid. However, if his quotes weren't radically taken out of context, then what he said was certainly foolish because it falls under the category of tugging on the MVP’s cape.
Sticks and stones? Wait and see when Game Four arrives.
If Ibaka’s words in a perhaps-still-unfamiliar language come back to haunt him and the Thunder, then I won’t blame Sammy Sosa for pretending in front of congress to be Chico Escuela, who, by the way, has a Facebook page.
The next time Ibaka is asked a potentially hazardous question about an opponent, perhaps he should provide the following response: "Basketball has been very, very good to me."
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