Sympathy for the bedeviled
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
We've focused on basketball--when we've focused on blogging at all--but with the Wizards ascendant, it's only humanitarian to check on our sports-fan brethren: The Redskins faith
As Bog-ger extraordinaire Dan Steinberg reports, the situation is increasingly grim, as signs of trouble are appearing everywhere (except in the stadium):
- The 2-5 team is making desperate mid-season coaching changes and mid-game QB switches.
- Disgruntled fans are calling for protests, walkouts, and charity campaigns.
- The city council of Landover, MD (home to the Redskins stadium) voted to re-re-name the town as Raljon, a frantic bid to recapture the halcyon days of 1997-99, when the Redskins majestically soared to...24-23-1. (Ed.'s note: Actually, this is not going to happen).
No, simple-minded football fans need a simple, mnemonic device--say, a fight song!--and the current options just won't do. Enter Rachel "I got dumped for Obama" Keller, sounding appropriately mournful whilst revisiting a local classic...
God bless you, fans of vaguely racist local football team. We know how it feels to be aboard a sinking ship; trust that one day, it'll turn around and you'll sail to warmer waters. Or perhaps you've already hit that $100 million iceberg and must now scuttle Albert Haynesworth on the bottom of the Potomac.
(Enough with tortured metaphors on non-roundball matters; please return to your regularly scheduled Dagger now).
Labels: Washington Redskins
posted by WRG @ 00:36,
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Bad signs for your professional NBA point guarding career
Monday, July 13, 2009
1. That you were traded three times in six months.
2. That there are five players ahead of you on the depth chart.
3. That this is the best in-game picture that a major newspaper can find for you.
posted by WRG @ 01:22,
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Take your marks: Olympic Blogs
Monday, August 18, 2008
It's been three months: Where have we been?
(More appropriately, where haven't we been? Domestic hotels, international terminals; weddings, [metaphorical] funerals).
Basically, anywhere but Beijing.
Although, with so many great sports blogs reporting live from the Summer Olympics (we gave up counting at 159), who needs to leave the couch? Thanks to Internet 2.0, the Games are on demand.
So, using the standards we developed last year to critique wannabe-Deadspins, we're going to review 15 of the more popular Olympic-focused blogs across categories like style and following. Given the range of Olympic sports and athletes, we're adding one category--scope--to represent how well the blog captures stories that we wouldn't otherwise hear on NBC.
Just like the Games, there are winners and losers. Here are a few blogs that caught our eye--mostly for good reasons.
Group A--New Media Pioneers
If our review had a group of death, this would be it; while very different in style and scope, these five sites are uniformly well-done and varying degrees of enjoyable. Which makes sense; when it comes to blogging, these sites all employ top writing talent and technical know-how (are you listening, Access Hollywood Olympics blog?)
He may work for a newspaper, but Steinberg's mix of hard-won blog cred and participatory journalism--such as his bravery in sampling yak artisanal cheese--separates his work from the print or TV blogs we'll be profiling later. And to be clear upfront: We already loved the popular DC Sports Bog; its temporary transformation into the Beijing Sports Smog leaves us, like Chinese communists, tickled pink.
Post length: Average to slightly long. Several quick-hit posts are just a few paragraphs, but most reach about 500 words.
Output: Frequent. About six posts per day, almost all original reporting (as opposed to linking to coverage or offering brief commentary on, say, a certain swimmer's repeated victories). However, with just Steinberg writing up stories, the Smog's far less prolific than some of the other blogs that we came across.
Style: An engaging mix of reporting and analysis; like a bemused features writer who lets the reader in on the joke.
Scope: Impressive. Blissfully unaware of athletes named "Phelps" or "Nastia," Steinberg almost never reports the headlines. Still, he finds a story everywhere he goes--sometimes, even before he gets there:
So today, in search of my first Olympic sporting event, I walked over to the handball venue, and what did I see? Four parents of two Swedish women handballers, trying desperately to get into the venue.
"We asked everybody, we asked anybody," one of the fathers, Jonas Ahlm, told me. "If you get us tickets for handball, we will teach you everything about handball. You can have exclusive interview with two girls. You can spend night with them."
His wife, Marie, protested this offer.
"Just eat and drink and maybe some little kissing," Jonas clarified.
At this point, I was committed.
Steinberg goes bargain-shopping with swimmers and photographs chubby judo coaches, interviews fashion-plate Craig Sager and relays his fear while holding an actual silver medal. In short, he finds the stories of the Olympics that no one else even thinks to look for. A must-read.
Hat-tips: Steinberg's got a Postie links helper finding about five per day; that doesn't seem great...until you realize just how little love these Olympics blogs tend to show to non-mainstream sources.
Following: Strong. While Steinberg never draws a ton of comments, the ones he gets tend to be clever and interesting. Moreover, he remains a blogger's blogger; all of the other Olympics websites (such as the ones we profile below) clearly read and link to him.
Bill Fitzgerald, Chris Chase, Maggie Hendricks, Nick Friedell, Pat Imig, and Reese Hoffa
Another strong (and very clean-looking) site, mixing punchy commentary with beautiful Getty images. Unlike the Beijing Sports Smog, this blog's much more robust and powered by six contributors; most offer quick hit-analysis, but Olympic shot-putter Hoffa has provided an inside look at life in the Village.
Overall, it's a fine source for major Olympics news, but don't head here for anything that NBC wouldn't tell you.
Post length: Short, although varies by author; Ladies... blogger Hendricks appears to have a three-paragraph limit, while Bog Poll contributor Fitzgerald chips in with longer, less-cohesive pieces.
Output: Prodigious. At least 15-to-20 posts per day, although some (like Hendricks' posts) are essentially a picture with a two-line caption.
Style: Conventional and casual, if a bit irreverent. You'll find the mystery of Michael Phelps' iPod playlist mixed in with regular updates of races and gymnastics competitions. There are a few regular features, like the pictures of the day and create-a-caption, that are nice but not especially compelling ideas. Meanwhile, the daily what-to-watch post has good intentions, but typically just lists NBC's primetime schedule; a what-to-watch-via-NBCOlympics.com would've been much more interesting.
Scope: Nothing special. If you want a quick review of the major Olympic stories of the day (Phelps! Gymnastics! Wrestler refuses his medal!), this is the blog for you. But with the exception of Imig's posts that include would-be Facebook founders and Dream Team windbreakers, don't expect much off the beaten Mondotrack.
Hat-tips: Limited. There's a daily roundup of newspaper articles, but even when crediting another site, Fourth Place Medal doesn't always bother to offer a link.
Following: Very popular. Piggybacking off the heavily trafficked Yahoo! Sports website, every post draws dozens (if not hundreds) of comments.
Olympics FanHouse
Enrico Campitelli, JJ Cooper, Michael David Smith, Tom Ziller, et al.
At first, this solid blog seems like Fourth Place Medal's weaker sister (grubbier layout, smaller pictures, fewer contributors, and a lot less reader traffic). However, FanHouse has more edge--in a good way--and offers opinionated coverage, like whether Phelps' iPod makes him faster or if the much-hyped USA-Spain game even mattered. Meanwhile, NBA star and Redeem Team member Chris Bosh has chipped in a few videos, while a regular "Golden Ticket" post cleverly promised to identify each day's best basketball games (although at the time of writing this, the posts seem shelved), giving the site some extra appeal.
Post length: Short to average. Most posts are about 200 words, although a handful have been twice as long.
Output: Considerable. Up to 20 posts per weekday; not quite so many over the weekend.
Style: Conversational and analytical, with many authors first introducing a topic or recapping an event, then weighing in with a segue like "To me, the most interesting part..."
Scope: Sticks to the big stories, although can take interesting angles on them, such as a critique of FINA for waiting to release images of Phelps' win in the 100M butterfly. More importantly, Campitelli (the blog's sole Beijng-based blogger) uncovered perhaps the scoop of the Games: Beer is really, really cheap at the Bird's Nest.
Hat-tips: Hardly any; mostly links to previous FanHouse coverage.
Following: For whatever reason, none of the FanHouse blogs draw many comments, and the Olympics blog isn't an exception. And maybe that isn't a bad thing; the heavily discussed posts (like this one on Dara Torres, likely featured as some AOL cross-promotion) never seem to make the site's readers look good.
Slate: Five-Ring Circus
Assorted authors
It's debatable which is the bigger stretch: Deng Linlin as a 16-year-old, or Five-Ring Circus as a true blog. Still, the latter's close enough; Slate's built a separate page with daily stories, a Twitter feed, and even a nifty "Sap-o-Meter" feature that tracks NBC's use of...(you know what? Just go check it out). Plus, we need five contenders in the new media divison, and on quality and diversity, Five-Ring Circus can more than hold its own.
Post length: From very short to very long. Nothing gets more pithy than Slate's 20-word tweets; meanwhile, the site's bread-and-butter essays can easily top 1,200 words.
Output: Three-to-five posts per weekday, including the clever Twitter feed, which offers such gems as "I love Usain Bolt's adopted Chinese brothers!" and "The Americans are really struggling with the international free throw line."
Style: Between the essays, the videos, and the Twitter feed, it's all over the map, but consistently expect Slate's trademark mix of smarts and snark. While the writing is great, the headlines tend to promise more than the stories deliver. ("Short sprinters beware," warns one piece examining the freakish success of freakishly large Usain Bolt, but the author eventually concludes that Bolt-sized sprinters will be a rarity for the near-future.)
Scope: Not great with respect to sport--you won't find updates of badminton or handball--but the stories are at least unique. "Dispatches from Beijing" discuss what it's like to watch the Olympics on Chinese TV, while essays and analysis break down the new gymnastics scoring system and the Speedo LZR's effects on run-of-the mill swimmers.
Hat-tips: Very few; a handful of links to other mainstream media sources.
Following: Very strong. More than 1,200 users have signed up for Slate's Twitter feed in about a week, which is hardly shabby; while the comments can be critical, that's nothing new for a Web magazine that prides itself on being contrarian.
Olympics feedChris Mottram, Spencer Hall, Chris Littmann, Bethlehem Shoals, Dan Shanoff, Dave Larzelere, Tom Ziller
It's also a bit unfair to lump the Sporting Blog, which hasn't carved out special Olympics coverage, in with sites like Fourth Place Medal and FanHouse; however, the blog's focused on Olympics coverage for much of the past week, and the hard-working Ziller (doing double duty with FanHouse!) wrote up seven posts over the weekend alone.
Unfortunately, if FanHouse was Fourth Place Medal's weaker sister, the Sporting Blog is the drunk college-age brother obsessed with America's Dumbest Sports Videos; a series of three posts last week offered clips of a Chinese trampoline dunker falling on his head, the Hungarian weightlifter who gruesomely dislocated his elbow, and gym-goers accidentally dropping weights on themselves. Ha.
Post length: Short to average; most posts are a few-hundred words, and videos are frequently used.
Output: Three-to-four posts per day.
Style: Snarky, opinionated, and even humorous, although often sophomoric. Several of the authors (such as Ziller and Shanoff) are well-read across the Internet.
Scope: Ok. The site mostly covers the big stories and sports, with a heavy focus on Phelps and basketball, but there's some acknowledgment of lesser lights like 49er skiff sailing and water polo...even if the authors are generally denigrating the sports' existence.
Hat-tips: A few, including to some of the other blogs on this list, such as the Smog and FanHouse.
Following: Decent. Comments are few-and-far-between (most likely because of Sporting News registration requirements), but as a recent poll indicated, at least 1,000 readers were willing to weigh in on whether Phelps actually won the 100M butterfly.
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Of course, these five just scratch the surface; we'll return to profile other well-trafficked blogs later this week. In the meantime, help us decide which Group A blog has done the best job covering the Games so far.
(Poll not showing up for you? Click here)
Labels: dc sports bog, Deadspin, FanHouse, fourth place medal, Olympics, Slate, sporting blog, yahoo sports
posted by Crucifictorious @ 01:17,
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Are you smarter than Chris Paul?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Collectivism didn't really work out for the USSR, but for the third time in three months, basket-blogs are cluster-posting the heck out of a topic. Back in March, Hardwood Paroxysm tipped off a 45+ post celebration for the Black Mamba; in April, 20 bloggers sang the praises of Underappreciated Famous NBA Athletes.
The latest con-blog-aration yesterday honored Chris Paul, who at 22...
...rolled up legendary point-guard numbers
...led the Hornets to their best season in franchise history
...has his team up 2-0 over the defending champs in the Western Conference semi-finals
(Truly, a phenomenal year; if Juan Dixon and Maceo Baston are worth a day, Paul deserves an entire week).
Still, it wasn't all gravy for CP3 on his own holiday--he finished just second in the NBA's MVP voting, despite convincingly winning basket-bloggers' own award last month.
Of course, there's one honor that Chris Paul can hold over Kobe--and every other NBA player: A win on "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me," a National Public Radio show that Paul appeared on back in September.
(ht: this guy).
We Rite Goode readers may prefer The Basketball Jones to NPR, so here's a primer on "Wait Wait": It's an hour-long news quiz that usually features a 10-minute segment with a celebrity guest, who's forced to answer extremely off-beat questions, usually with mixed success. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer whiffed on all three “Rock N’Roll Lifestyles” questions; meanwhile, muppet Elmo went 2-for-3 on a quiz called "Shut up! Shut up! I'm going to cut your mic!"
Chris Paul's own quiz was called “You want me to eat what?," which focused on the “least palatable” food products from the 1970s. Want to try your own luck? Here are the three questions that NPR asked Paul; feel free to play or listen along at home. Keep in mind, two of the products in each question are fake--only one is real and the right answer.
Question 1. Kids are a huge target for the processed food crowd, but you’ve got to appeal to the parents too. That was the idea behind one of these failed food products--which is the real product?
A) Liver Pops
Frozen liver treats for your kids
B) Vita-Yums
Chocolate-covered vitamins
C) I Hate Peas
Peas and other unpalatable foods are processed into fake french fries
Answer.
2. While most products are aimed at families, marketers tried to woo single shoppers with which product?
A) Baby Burger Bites
Packets of frozen hamburgers the size of marshmellows
B) Gerber’s singles
Baby food for adults
C) Peanut capsules
Little paper-wrapped packets, with the shells inside
Answer.
3. One smart marketing strategy: Play to customers' natural laziness. But ease-of-preparation couldn’t save which real product?
A) Seat-warmer Dinners
Wrapped dinners you put under your seat cushions and cook with your own body heat
B) Reddi-bacon
From the makers of Reddi-Whip, foil-wrapped bacon you pop in the toaster
C) Fish Jerky
Pre-cooked, freeze-dried perfect for picnics and eating on the go
Answer.
Perhaps the nickname stands for Completely Perfect in 3, as Paul aced the quiz. How did you do? Compare your score to noted luminaries below.
3 correct = Chris Paul, NBA All-Star
2 = Joey Harrington, NFL quarterback (link)
1 = Ken Jennings, “Jeopardy” champion (link)
0 =
Around the Web
Like seat-warmer dinners, a few things we've been sitting on for far too long...
* Bright Side of the Sun puts Mike D'Antoni's return to the acid test.
* The second issue of Sports Northwest Magazine, edited by Seth Kolloen of Enjoy the Enjoyment, is now out; Nathaniel Friedman--a.k.a. Bethlehem Shoals--has an interesting piece on David Stern's middle-America politics.
* One of the most active participants in the basket-blog rankings, the Dream Shake weighs in with their Defensive Player and Executive of the Year. Be warned: The Dream Shake likes the Rockets. A lot.
* Fellow basket-blog voter 20 Second Timeout explains his voting for MVP and other awards. TruthAboutIt.net and Hoops State of Mind also cast their MVP ballots.
* MC Bias sees nothing good emerging from last week's Bissinger/Leith/Costas dust-up.
* He was turning 30 and playing for a middling franchise, so he mocked the GM and demanded a trade all off-season. He was booed by fans and called "selfish" by teammates behind his back. But he sucked it up and carried his team to title contention and raised his game to an MVP-level. Yes, Hakeem Olajuwon went from malcontent to two-time champion--and back in November, we wondered if Kobe could pull off a similar transformation.
Labels: Chris Paul, Deadspin, Joey Harrington, Kobe Bryant, MVP, NPR
posted by Crucifictorious @ 01:32,
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Rankings: The 7th Man of the year (oh, and MVP, too)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Let's face it: Part I of the final basket-blogger awards played to script, with Durant (ROY), Scott (COY), and Hedo (MIP). However, today's rankings of 7th Man and MVP promise to be more surprising and--dare we say--interesting.
Still, prepare yourself for lots of charts and numbers; bloggers provided six months of data, after all. How could we not analyze it?
7th Man of the Year
We elected to skip 6th Man--not just because Manu Ginobili was near-unanimous, but since typical candidates are de facto starters--and instead wanted to recognize a true impact reserve. A player who doesn't get starter's minutes (so, no one who played more than 24 mpg) and came off the bench all season (so, no one who started more than 25% of the games he played in).
Here's how basket-bloggers voted:
Honorable mention: Jordan Farmar, Leon Powe, Jannero Pargo.
3. Louis Williams
11.5 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.0 spg, 16.7 PER
Per 36 minutes: 17.8 ppg, 4.9 apg, 1.6 spg
Adjusted plus-minus: -7.68
12 points, named on 15% of ballots
Perfect third guard, although we'll probably end up overpaying him--and starting him.--Phunctional Phalcoholic, We Rite Goode
2. JR Smith
12.3 ppg, 1.7 apg, 40% 3FG, 18.1 PER
Per 36 minutes: 23.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.2 apg
Adjusted plus-minus: -1.99
22 points, 35% of ballots
The Nuggets are in the lottery without his scoring, and yes, passing, off the bench.--Jeremy, Pickaxe and Roll.
INAUGURAL 7TH MAN - Jason Maxiell
7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 54% FG, 21.6 mpg, 16.7 PER
Per 36 minutes: 13.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg
Adjusted plus-minus: 4.34
29 points, 46% of ballot
He anchors a very good bench for a team that is, in my view, the 2nd best team in the NBA.--John, Red's Army
He eats babies.--Pradamaster, Bullets Forever
Editorializing for a second, our friend PhDribble wants bloggers to better recognize bench players; he'd be happy to know that 23 different 7th men were nominated, with 11 receiving at least one first-place vote. Not surprisingly, the polling strongly favored reserves on playoff teams, which tend to be deeper and bring more talent off the pine.
Another aside: Had this award been based solely on adjusted plus-minus--basically, how much better was a team with X player on the court--Eduardo Najera (plus 9.25) would have won 7th man in a landslide, as he was among the league leaders. Second and third among 7th men were Tony Allen (plus 5.08) and Kyle Korver (plus 4.80), respectively.
Most Valuable Player
Whether it was wins, points, or lifetime achievement, most basket-bloggers based their MVP choice on established criteria. Then there were the voters who felt that charisma in street clothes (one 9th place vote for Greg Oden) or simply leaving the team (one 10th place vote for Jeff McInnes) were enough to warrant consideration.
You'll see the results below, but one trend we've identified, which is sure to help some runner-up's candidacy next year: Keep your bad haircut. After shaving their heads, Andrew Bogut and Chris Kaman finished tied for just 23rd.
Honorable mention: Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady
10. Manu Ginobili
19.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 61.2% TS, PER 24.3
32 win shares, 10.65 adjusted plus-minus
62 points, 50% of ballots
As he goes, so go the Spurs. No disrespect to Timmy, but it's the truth.--Ben Q. Rock, Third Quarter Collapse
9. Deron Williams
18.8 ppg, 10.5 apg, 59.5% FG, 20.8 PER
31 win shares, 2.06 adjusted plus-minus
66 points, 50% of ballots
Even though as a Nugget fan I hate the Jazz, Deron is just too good to put any lower.--Jeremy, Pickaxe and Roll
8. Dirk Nowitzki
23.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 58.5% TS, 24.6 PER
34 win shares, 8.16 adjusted plus-minus
67 points, 57% of ballots
In many ways Dirk has been much more of an MVP candidate to me this year than last. He's shown unexpected toughness and resiliency and was the reason Dallas topped the 50 win mark once again.--Franchise, RaptorsHQ
7. Amare Stoudemire
25.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 65.6% TS, 27.6 PER
43 win shares, -1.47 adjusted plus-minus
99 points, 67% of ballots
Some questioned his passion and work-ethic in the beginning of the season...Those people have been very quiet.--Ryne, Odenized
6. Tim Duncan
19.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.9 bpg, 24.3 PER
32 win shares, 7.52 adjusted plus-minus
104 points, 72% of ballots
Didn't everyone think he was washed up like 3 years ago?--College Wolf, Twolves Blog
Top five in MVP voting
Let's pause for a second. Not for dramatic emphasis, but to consider how these final five players separated themselves across the season; none dropped below fifth in our rankings, and four--LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul--held the top spot at some point.
However, every player who once held first also ranked as low as fourth or fifth at some point, illustrating this year's ultra-competitive MVP race. One week, Dwight Howard was #1 and LeBron James was #3; in the next poll, they'd swapped places. In fact, the most consistent candidate was Kevin Garnett--the only player in this quintet yet to hold #1--as KG never fell below fourth nor rose above second.
We know that, over the course of a season, voters change their ballots based on fluctuations in player and team performance, not to mention factors like dramatic wins or SportsCenter highlights. For example, Caron Butler appeared in just one ranking--10th overall, on Dec. 17th--and we'd bet that was tied to the Wizards' nationally televised victory over Shaq and Wade a few nights before, as much as Butler's play and team record.
So, in offering up these final five MVP candidates, we examine one factor--if recent team performance correlated with voter behavior. In addition to select stats and witty comments, the following players also get a big, distracting chart (The red line represents where the players ranked in MVP voting each round; the blue line represents their team's winning percentage in the two weeks between votes.) Judge for yourself; our back-of-the-envelope analysis is that there's a link, in addition to a bit of a lag.
5. Dwight Howard
20.7 ppg, 14.2 rpg, 59.9% FG, 2.1 bpg
36 win shares, 13.71 adjusted plus-minus
165 points, 94% of ballots
The league's leader in adjusted plus-minus, and by a wide margin. He also hasn't missed a game in his career.--Ben Q. Rock, Third Quarter Collapse
A good supporting cast, but it is Howard who has got Orlando to this point. And Howard who will take the Magic further...--Don, With Malice...
Became a much better player this year, but fizzled down the stretch.--Jeramey, The Bratwurst
4. LeBron James
30.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.2 apg, 1.8 spg, 29.1 PER
43 win shares, 9.29 adjusted plus-minus
272 points, 100% of ballots
If Chris Paul is the glue making the pieces of his team fit, LeBron is the team itself; sans LBJ the Cavs are probably the worst offensive team in the league.--Franchise, RaptorsHQ
Long story short is that they didn't win enough games. That's bogus because they would have won less games than the TWolves without LeBron.--College Wolf, TWolves Blog
As far as MVP voting went, he would have been better off slacking the first half of the season like he did last year.--Brett, Queen City Hoops
He's an unbelievable player, but if you can't get more than 4 games over .500 in the Leastern Conference you can't win the award - that's actually engraved on the trophy. --Tom and Steve W., CelticsBlog
Hard to overlook his stats. Easy to overlook his team. Not quite the MVP.--David, The Dream Shake
3. Kevin Garnett
18.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 54% FG, 25.2 PER
36 win shares, 9.68 adjusted plus-minus
291 points, 100% of ballots (nine first place votes)
He's not getting enough love, methinks. Defense is a major, major part of the game, and you can't deny how much he has impacted that end of the floor. I mean, Boston has the third-best defensive efficicency of ALL TIME! How ridiculous is that.--Pradamaster, Bullets Forever
Never before has one man done so much... with so much. Wait, what?--Matt and Corn, Hardwood Paroxysm
HEY BOSTON IS DA GRATEST!!! HATAZ DON NO BOUT DEM CELTICS!!! via Ball Don't Lie--Goathair, The Blowtorch
2. Kobe Bryant
28.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.8 spg, 24.2 PER39 win shares, 10.56 adjusted plus-minus
317 points, 100% of ballots (12 first place votes)
As Tim Legler put it, he is the only player in the NBA who has no weaknesses. He is the only player since MJ who you would want to take the last shot and defend a player who is taking the last shot.--Dave, 20 Second Timeout
His leadership and poise are what set him apart. There are a lot of great leaders, but none would I have over Kobe.--Ryne, Odenized
The man can win games singlehandedly whenever he wants to, AND leap over speeding Aston Martins in a single bound.--Jeff, Courtside at the Score
He's still the best player in the NBA. Just not the most valuable this year. There are worse things in life than #2 in MVP voting...--David, The Dream Shake
(Kobe's kind of our horse in the race, despite voting for Paul; amidst last fall's trading frenzy, we were hoping that he could still pull a Hakeem Olajuwon in L.A.).
1. Chris Paul
21.1 ppg, 11.6 apg, 2.7 spg, 57.6% TS, 28.3 PER
50 win shares, -.06 adjusted plus-minus
334 points, 100% of ballots (15 first place votes)
He's having the best traditional point-guard season of all-time, and he saved basketball in New Orleans. "Value" applies to the community, too.--Ben Q. Rock, Third Quarter Collapse
Try to win 56 games in the West with Mo Peterson as your STARTING teammate in the back court and tell me how it works...--Ricky, Sixers 4 Guidos
By PER, the man just had THE single greatest season in the history of the point guard position. Better than Magic, Oscar, or Stockton in their prime. I just don't see how that can go unrewarded.--Rohan, At the Hive
How do we compare?
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Here's one final, crowded chart: A compilation of every poll from across the season. Note how the same players remained in the top five all season, while 13 different players rotated through the bottom five slots.
You can see a full-size version of this graphic here.
If the chart's abbreviations throw you off, check out this spreadsheet, which contains the year-long MVP results, in addition to full voting for today's awards. In tracking players' "full body of work," the spreadsheet also illustrates how cumulative voting (i.e., Dwight Howard gets 9 points for finishing second in the inaugural poll, 10 points for finishing first in the second poll, etc.) would have significantly altered the MVP results: LeBron would be the hands-down winner, while Kobe would've finished fourth and Steve Nash--who wasn't even in the final poll--would've ranked sixth.
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A Texas-sized hat-tip to Brew Hoop's Alex--who dreamed up these rankings nearly six months ago--for letting us close out this fantastic regular season. Not to mention, many thanks to the kind voters (listed out below) and to you, the reader...who now knows far more about bloggers' MVP preferences than he ever wished.
Esteemed voters
David (Dream Shake); Ryne (Odenized); Franchise (RaptorsHQ); Spartacus (3 Shades of Blue); College Wolf (TWolves Blog); Matt and Corndogg (Hardwood Paroxysm); David (20 Second Timeout); Brian (Empty the Bench); Ben Q. Rock (Third Quarter Collapse); Don (With Malice); Ryan (HoopsAddict); Green 17 & Steve W. (Celtics Blog); Alex (BrewHoop); Basketbawful (Basketbawful); ticktock6 and mW (Hornets Hype); Dannie (Hoops State of Mind); Carter Blanchard (Free Darko); Rohan (At the Hive); Matt Watson (DetroitBadBoys.com); Tom (Indy Cornrows) Pradamaster (Bullets Forever); Josh (Dinosty); Jeramey (The Bratwurst); Jeff (Courtside at The Score); Wes Cox (Mavs Moneyball); Goathair (The Blowtorch); TruthAboutIt (TruthAboutIt.net); Ricky (Sixers 4 Guidos); Phoenix Stan (Bright Side of the Sun); Matt (BlogABull.com); Brett (Queen City Hoops); John (Red's Army); Andre (Nuggets 1); M. Haubs (The Painted Area); Jeremy (Pickaxe and Roll)
Previous rounds
- Brew Hoop
- ClipsNation
- 3 Shades of Blue
- Sixers4Guidos
- Pickaxe & Roll
- Hardwood Paroxysm
- CelticsBlog
- TwolvesBlog
- Hornets247
- Queen City Hoops
Labels: 7th Man of the Year, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, J.R. Smith, Jason Maxiell, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Louis Williams, MVP, NBA
posted by Crucifictorious @ 21:30,
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