Really, why? Well it was on my mind! I also typed it on my new iPad with a Journal App that I fell in love with, so there. By the way, yes, still on blogspot with every good intention of moving to WordPress. I am thinking next weekend, its a long Holiday one and I don't have my kids, I'll be in New York, alone and mostly bored, not that anyone pays attention...
I am really disappointed in the NBA. I used to be a very big fan as a kid. I look back at the early 80's and I wonder if I am just being nostalgic or is there something to it. The night before last I was watching the Flyers hockey game and in-between periods I switched over and the NBA Draft Lottery was on, that's what initially got me thinking about the topic...
Anyway, I watched and sat there comparing it to the NFL which seems to do everything right when it comes to drafts and dealing with college players. On the flip side you have the NBA; their silly one and done college rule and this 'lottery' that is staged to determine who gets the first pick through the 14th, I think. This should be exciting stuff!!!! It's what can shape a future franchise right? Not so fast my friends --- not only is drafting NBA talent a hit and miss, moving target but thanks to stupid contracts and salary restrictions it is downright convoluted. On top of that, I really no longer understand what it takes to be an NBA player and I have to tell you, I love the college game and think I am fairly knowledgeable, but I look at the mock drafts put up by experts and I scratch my head...I know maybe 10 names from the college game and I really wonder what their impact is going to be. The overall #1 seems to be John Wall, a skinny 19 year old kid that played one year at Kentucky, because quite frankly, he had too. Now I am not knocking the kids' talent but I don't think he is NBA ready and I don't necessarily mean from a skills standpoint, though I think the top 10 point guards in the game will eat him for lunch for the next two years. What I see is an immature, self absorbed, talent laden kid that will never reach his max potential because he will no longer be 'taught' the game of basketball. All of that is sort of off topic but because year after year this same thing happens, it has made the NBA an inferior product. David Stern, the NBA Commissioner, can stick his head in the sand and point to TV ratings all day long but I see empty buildings and complete apathy about the future. You, Mr. Stern, got very lucky with an influx of talent in the Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul class. Enjoy it now because I don't see the future staying 'rosy'.
Watch your older brother, the NFL, and learn; you can market the player but at the end of the day it is the team that matters. Fans will always appreciate great talent but we fall in love with teams, winning and enthusiasm. When you hand 19 year olds $40 million without any track record of success you are creating an atmosphere of individualship and greed. Coaches are not respected in the same way as they were before and veterans are seen as has beens that should just go away. And fans? Do they even know we are there? Just ask Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks, but that is a whole different rant!
I am glad my 76ers are no longer relevant or this would all frustrate me so much more and there is an indictment in itself. I look longingly at my Dr. J jersey, the 1983 championship banner and my Moses Malone '4,4,4 Sixers' shirt with longing and passion, for another time and another era, but no longer for basketball...
Showing posts with label Dr. James Andrews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. James Andrews. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, August 4, 2008
Rehab Update
Just got out of my Monday morning session with Mark and I am psyched.
I was able to get my knee bent to 122 degrees and Mark removed the final 2 or 3 stitches that didn't seem to want to come out. This happened at the end of the workout when his Assistant rubbed in some cocoa butter ointment and massaged the incision areas to start breaking up scar tissue. After months of rehab now (2 months before surgery and 3 weeks after now) I have been waiting to get these awesome massages that everyone around me seems to get, but no, just a little cocoa butter stuff around the knee; at least it wasn't Mark rubbing it in :)
Today in the workout we added a new element to all the other crazy stuff I am doing. Mark hooked me up to a weight belt that is attached to a 10 foot or so bungy cord. He made me drag him around the gym both forwards and backwards as he kept trying to pull me back. This was the FIRST time I felt like I was doing 'real' work again. One of the therapists was cheering me on and was pleased I could do so well 6 weeks after surgery, to which Mark smiled and said, "it's 3 weeks Shannon". :)
I am psyched and am seeing so much progress. Except for a little swelling and the still noticeable limp I have I feel pretty normal. There is always the steady uncomfortability/borderline pain, but nothing like last week. Ten years ago I was still immobilized in a boot and working from home with the left knee. It still amazes me how far science has come. Say want about sports, but from a medical perspective, big time sports has paved the way for these advancements. Teams need their athletes on the field as quickly as possible from a financial and competitive standpoint and surgeons like Dr. James Andrews have heard that loud and clear. The cynic in you might say, "shouldn't that be doing that with cancer, etc..." and the answer is of course yes, and they have, see my friend Steve's blog on my blog roll for evidence of that and yes, more research money needs to be thrown at everything. I can only speak from my 10 year experience between knee reconstruction surgeries.
Lastly, in the gym, with Mark's back turned I almost thought about trying to do a light jog in place but opted not to push my luck. I have heard from everyone who loves me not to overdo it and I am trying hard to listen :)
I was able to get my knee bent to 122 degrees and Mark removed the final 2 or 3 stitches that didn't seem to want to come out. This happened at the end of the workout when his Assistant rubbed in some cocoa butter ointment and massaged the incision areas to start breaking up scar tissue. After months of rehab now (2 months before surgery and 3 weeks after now) I have been waiting to get these awesome massages that everyone around me seems to get, but no, just a little cocoa butter stuff around the knee; at least it wasn't Mark rubbing it in :)
Today in the workout we added a new element to all the other crazy stuff I am doing. Mark hooked me up to a weight belt that is attached to a 10 foot or so bungy cord. He made me drag him around the gym both forwards and backwards as he kept trying to pull me back. This was the FIRST time I felt like I was doing 'real' work again. One of the therapists was cheering me on and was pleased I could do so well 6 weeks after surgery, to which Mark smiled and said, "it's 3 weeks Shannon". :)
I am psyched and am seeing so much progress. Except for a little swelling and the still noticeable limp I have I feel pretty normal. There is always the steady uncomfortability/borderline pain, but nothing like last week. Ten years ago I was still immobilized in a boot and working from home with the left knee. It still amazes me how far science has come. Say want about sports, but from a medical perspective, big time sports has paved the way for these advancements. Teams need their athletes on the field as quickly as possible from a financial and competitive standpoint and surgeons like Dr. James Andrews have heard that loud and clear. The cynic in you might say, "shouldn't that be doing that with cancer, etc..." and the answer is of course yes, and they have, see my friend Steve's blog on my blog roll for evidence of that and yes, more research money needs to be thrown at everything. I can only speak from my 10 year experience between knee reconstruction surgeries.
Lastly, in the gym, with Mark's back turned I almost thought about trying to do a light jog in place but opted not to push my luck. I have heard from everyone who loves me not to overdo it and I am trying hard to listen :)
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