Files from the Attic: #2 "Scoop Jackson Needs To Get A Clue"

What better way to fill you blog with content than to use older posts from blogs that no longer exist. This one is from when I worked for Sports Radio 850 the Buzz. From The Blog June 16th, 2008. (As of this writing, Scoop Jackson Still sucks.)

 Just when I thought that ESPN still had some value as a sports information service, I read this article from Page 2’s resident hack, Scoop Jackson. This article entitled “What Happened to the New York City Point Guard? ” May be the worst example of Scoop’s schlock- passing -as- sportswriting I have yet to witness. Basically he breaks down the the answer to an interesting question like this: New York point guards are so into being New York point guards that they don’t need an NBA check.

What’s the point in being Jamaal Tinsley, a quasi-respected midlevel starting point guard for the Pacers, but having no one north of 110th Street honor you as dude in the summer, when you could be Kenny Satterfield or Andre Barrett, who dropped 68 and 66 points, respectively, in a Hoops in the Sun tournament game in the Bronx two weeks ago, and get love so unconditional that people riding the 6 uptown with you start rating you as the basketball equivalent of Zeus?

OK, now I know that there are legends on New York basketball courts that will live forever. But Kenny Satterfield? It’s not like the guy dropped out of the NBA because he didn’t find it challenging enough. This guy averaged A little over 5 points a game and less than 1 APG while playing 20 minutes a night for the Denver Nuggets in 02-03. But the real gem in the article is this:

That “love you for life” trade-off that most NYPGs have succumbed to over the past 10 years is possibly the reason the “foreigners” have been taking their spots in the NBA. To the point gods left in NYC — Dwight Hardy, Jeremy Hazell, Kemba Walker — the world can have that spot; they no longer want it, no longer need it.

Yes, that’s right, Scoop. Guys like “Future” and “Booger” are sidestepping the NBA and leaving it to the foreign players because it is SOOOO much more rewarding to play on the NYC tournament circuit. It couldn’t possibly be that they play a style of ball that is entirely about showcasing your own personal offensive attributes.  I love these tournaments. I love seeing “Half man Half Amazing” go to the hole. And with the And 1, and Mixtape tours now, playground basketball absolutely has a livable- and sometimes lucrtive-wage involved for the players. Bottom line is that if ANY NBA club thought these guys could help them they would give them a real contract. And if ANY of these guys were given an real NBA contract, they would sign immediately.   Why does ESPN pay guys to write like 10 year old fanboys?

They still do.