Well, he is gone. Yes, the Dwight Howard nightmare has come to an end – and I could not be happier.
I was never comfortable with the acquisition of Howard. His track record as a coach killer, his suspect fundamentals and his failure to live up to what the Los Angeles Lakers expect made this nearly a mission impossible for the Lakers.
Howard looks good on paper, and you would have thought that the Laker history of being the most successful pro team franchise in the world over the last 35 years would have turned him into a player who could join other great Laker centers like George Mikan, Wilt, Kareem and Shaq. Instead the names C.J. Kupec or Vlade Divac come to mind. Come to think of it, those guys got to the Finals. For Howard, it was one excuse after another.
When Shaq took shots at him, publicly challenging Howard to be great and not just good, Shaq was not hating, after all. He was right.
Howard was never a Laker. Even when Kobe Bryant tried to get him to stay and the Lakers put on a PR press including a willingness to pay him more than any other team, it was good that he went elsewhere. The Lakers, thanks to Howard and Sr. VP Jim Buss (Jerry’s son) – who thought it was a good idea to bring back Phil Jackson – were not going to win an NBA championship. When the going got tough, Howard and his game got going … in the wrong direction on too many nights.
Now Howard has moved on to Houston, where he will be in the shadows of Hakeem Olajuwan and Ralph Sampson. Does anyone think these Rockets are real contenders? Can they count on Howard?
The Lakers will face a difficult season. They will not have an aging Kobe at 100 percent for a while. Pau Gasol can still play, if Mike D’Antoni has confidence in starting him instead of having him come off the bench. Steve Nash has one more run in him. Other than that, this team is short on talent. The Metta World Peace experiment is over with a failing grade, and Steve Blake can’t stay healthy.
After next season, a number of good players will be free agents, including Carmelo and – yes – LeBron. The Lakers will be well under the cap and able to sign anyone they choose.
The Lakers they may have to play second fiddle behind the LA Clippers. A taste of that for a year would inspire them to climb back in it, but quick. Anything else, and there will be a full-scale mutiny on Jim Buss.
Carpenter the competitor
Five – count ‘em, five – Cardinals made the All Star team, and there was certainly a good argument for a sixth in Cardinal closer Edward Mujica. All were certainly deserving. Matt Carpenter is the most impressive, given that he went to spring training simply hoping to compete for a spot at second base.
Gridiron crimes
It must be the off-season for the NFL again, as you can find a player in trouble with the law on a weekly basis. The Aaron Hernandez situation is the latest front page attraction, and rightfully so. The NFL has a problem. How do you fix it? The entrance rules to the league have to be more stringent. The punishments for doing wrong have to be harder. Wrongdoers should be required to perform community service to remind them what idiots they are and how playing this game is a privilege. The players’ association has to step up and be more forceful. The excuses by the people who cover this league have to stop, and reality really needs to set in here.
Go, governor
Last week it was announced that Governor Jay Nixon will step in and handle negotiations for the St. Louis stadium issue with Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Due to term limits, Nixon can’t run for governor again, so he is free to do something that does not hold voters hostage. It will be a feather in his political cap if the taxpayers are not duped like they were in the past to enable the building of what is currently the worst stadium in the league.
Nixon is a sports fan who understands that an NFL franchise is a coveted asset for the state. If there are more tax dollars coming in than going out, it is a good deal. Anything else, and it will be time to look for options.
Speaking of options, most seem to think that the current stadium setup is now a Plan B with the hope of building something new. New, huh? OK, where will you build it? How long will it take? Who is going to pay for it?
Spare me with the whole “this could bring a Super Bowl to St. Louis” talk. That is a one-time event for one week, like many well-attended conventions, but this show costs hundreds of millions of dollars to put on. While I am a sports fan, I never thought I would say I was glad to see this negotiation in the hands of a politician, but I am. Just don’t give away the store, governor.
