Rose Gloom

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I was busy on Saturday. As usual, it is my only day to get everything done, and this Saturday was no different. I was however happy about two things. One, I was able to watch the first half of the Bulls opening playoff game, and two, it wasn't raining. Local weatherman, Stever Baskerville warned that Saturday was going to be a rainy and gloomy day. Little did Chicagoans know, the gloom was going to come on West Madison Street at the United Center around 3:00 p.m. Throughout the afternoon, I checked my tweets for scores and updates, then I saw fellow friend and tweeter, Taylor, who has dubbed herself "The Duchess of Deerfield" due to her undying love and affection for starting Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, tweet that he was hurt. I felt uneasy for a moment. Honestly, knowing Derrick wasn't 100%, I wasn't against the staff holding him in this series. While the 76'ers are a formidable team, the Bulls could beat them without Derrick. Save him for Boston or Atlanta I thought. God, how I wish that is what they decided. When word got out that Derrick suffered a season-ending torn ACL, I felt absolutely putrid. To say I was sick is an understatement. The melancholy really sat in on Sunday as I made my way to church and listened to the ESPN-1000 crew talk about the injury. It got real. I pondered over it, wondering why this affected me so. For some reason, Derrick has just affected people. I honestly expected no one outside of Chicago to even care. I saw a few Miami fans tweeting their laughs and crass remarks about how they were glad that he got hurt, which I think is reprehensible. You don't celebrate someone else's pain, but then again, I'm still trying to figure out how one becomes a Miami Heat fan. But I also saw numerous tweets from people all over, including celebrities, who were in shock and disbelief. My sickness over it centered around Derrick moreso than the team. It was like, how can something like this happen to someone like him? Rose, who represents what's right in the league and now this. This season has left quite a few teams battered and bruised, due to the condensed schedule. And to say the schedule has nothing to do with it, would just be an outright lie. Up unil this season, Rose played 280/286 games. Numbers don't lie. Stern's reluctance to acknowledge that is reason number 3, 456,799 why he should step down as the commissioner. The owner's bottom line took precedence over the health and well-being of the players. This was a mistake and should not be repeated. Now there are 3 players who won't be playing for the U.S. this summer, and how heartbreaking Rose is one of them. No, it's not the end of the world. After at least 6-9 months of rehabilitation, Rose will probably be driving the basket for the amazing circus shot and the And-1, but for right now, my emotions are as dreary as the spring weather outside

David Stern: Modern Day Plantation Owner?

It is no secret that I am no big fan of David Stern. A New Yorker, raised in a Jewish family in Teaneck, who went on to Rutgers, then law school at Columbia. He became a legal counsel for the NBA in the 70's and by February 1, 1984, he became the Commissioner of the league.

I give this abbreviated resume of Stern's to show that there is a disconnect here. A man, who has never even played basketball should not be running the professional league of basketball! Not for almost 30 years!!!

I have seen the tell-tale signs that the league has outgrown him through the years. During the Jordan era, I remember it was a bit of a controversy at first when the Bulls began wearing their shorts a little longer. Now it's standard around the league. Then the issue was braids, then tattooes, then jeans, and so on. Times have changed. The NBA is no longer an all-white, boring organization of pickup players. The NBA boasts some of the most freakishly athletic players in the world. The games are often tantalizing and sometimes jaw dropping. And here you have this "old guy" running it, who can't even relate to them on a basic level because he's never even been an athlete.

Now the lockout looms. Preseason is gone. We're moving into the first month of the season being lost, and he is working against the players he is supposed to lead, more than ever. Playing off of public scrutiny and prejudices to victimize himself, then hoping to rebuild that taint if an agreement is reached. This is clearly not someone who should be over a league of professional basketball players.

So, on his HBO show, Bryant Gumbel decided to point that out. He referred to Stern as a "...modern plantation owner...." The words were harsh, shocking even, to some. But, was Gumbel right?