Most Valuable LeBron

    LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in NBA history, and he has four MVP awards to prove it. Earlier this month, after Stephen Curry was named the first unanimous MVP in NBA history (Curry's second straight MVP award), LeBron got a lot of grief regarding his comments about the status of the award. The problem is: He's exactly right.

James, a 4x MVP, averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds
and 7 assists this season

    Every league likes to have a villain, and somehow, LeBron is viewed as the villain of the NBA. People love to hate LeBron. But in this case, let's give him a break. His comments were that the term "Most Valuable Player" needs to be re-evaluated. It came across to the public like LeBron James was being petty about coming in 3rd in the MVP voting, behind Curry and the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard. In James's defense, he did say that Stephen Curry was deserving and even cited his stats and said that there was no question who the best player was this year.

    There's the problem. The award is not called "Best Player", it's called the "Most Valuable Player". If you look at those two titles at face value, there's an obvious difference. Curry was definitely the best player in the NBA this year, averaging 30 points, leading the league in steals, and becoming the first player in NBA history to make 400 3-pointers in a season (shattering his own NBA record by over 100), but he was not the most valuable.



Harper: 1st MVP voting- Nationals (83-79)
Goldschmidt 2nd- Diamondbacks (79-83)
Votto 3rd- Reds (64-98)

   Anyone who has heard my podcast, Empire Sports Talk, knows that I had a similar gripe about this same thing at the end of baseball season. The Most Valuable Player award is given to the best player in the league for a given year. However, the title is misleading. The league's best player should be rewarded, but under a title that is just that, best player. Most Valuable Player paints a picture of the league's most irreplaceable player, the person whose team would be nothing without them, or at least that's how it should be defined. Last year in the MLB, as was the subject of the podcast in question, titled "V is for Valuable", Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals won the National League MVP award. He was the best player, numbers-wise, but he, along with the other two candidates for the award, Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds, were on teams that missed the playoffs.
    Now, let me pose this question for perspective: How "valuable" were these players to their teams if, even with them and their numbers, they still didn't make the playoffs-and in the case of Goldschmidt and Votto, they weren't even close?

    I'm not so naïve as to believe that these guys could make these teams good by themselves, because it's baseball and baseball is heavily a team sport, but still. Sticking with baseball, in the American League, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson took home the MVP award. In this case, the Blue Jays did make the playoffs and without Donaldson's numbers, they probably wouldn't have. THAT is the definition of valuable. There IS a difference between Most Valuable and Best.



Leonard: Back-to-back
Defensive Player of the year (2015-16)

    So, back to LeBron. Given the example above, LeBron James probably was the Most Valuable Player this year. Why? Kwahi Leonard may be the best player on his otherwise aging team, and let it be said that I'm not ignoring the fact that he did win Defensive Player of the Year...again, but as of right now, he's not even the leader of his team. Until he retires, the Spurs are still Tim Duncan's team. Would the Spurs have made the playoffs without Kwahi? Probably, given that they finished with a 67-15 record, second only to the record breaking Warriors, and were 26 games clear of missing the playoffs. In the past two years since LeBron has been in Cleveland, the Cavs record in games that LeBron doesn't play in is 4-13. Even with the talent of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the LeBron-less Cavs have a win percentage of .235. That means, if they played an entire season without LeBron, their win total would be right around 19. A record of 19-63. The Cavs would be much closer to the first pick in the draft than raising a banner. Now, that record is a stretch because the team would take the necessary measures if they knew they would be without LeBron, but here's another fact. The Cavs did go from playoffs to first pick once already...when LeBron left for Miami. The following season, the Cavs had the league's worst record and drafted Kyrie Irving with the first pick.

    Would the current Warriors team go from first to worst with Stephen Curry? Absolutely not. During the regular season, Curry sat out the entire 4th quarter 18 times (4.5 games total) and the Warriors still finished with the best record in NBA history. With Stephen Curry missing a handful of games in the playoffs due to injury, the Warriors still moved on to the Conference Finals without so much as a hitch, losing only one game in their first two series, series in which Curry did not play a large portion of the games. The Warriors are fine without him.

Curry: First unanimous MVP in NBA history

    I, like LeBron am not taking anything away from Curry or Leonard. They are fantastic players who are deserving the awards they receive. I don't even think LeBron was necessarily going to bat for himself, like it's being portrayed. As an ambassador of the NBA, he sees a flaw. The Most Valuable Player award is misleading. There is a difference between the most valuable player and the best player, and all of our major American sports leagues are guilty of not making the distinction. If you would like to keep the award of Most Valuable Player, judge it the way you may judge Most Improved Player, or Sixth Man of the Year, because that's the kind of award in would be. Give the current MVP Award a new title. A more accurate title worthy of its stature: the Best Player Award or the Michael Jordan Award (similar to how the Hank Aaron Award goes to baseball's best hitter).

    A mix-up like this is an honest mistake and we shouldn't blame LeBron James or call him a sore loser just for pointing it out. LeBron is EXACTLY right in his comments. The MVP award needs a new name, and congratulations to Stephen Curry for being the NBA's Best Player in 2016.

Double Standard

    Why is there a double standard in sports? It seems like a bold thing to come right out and say, but there is, and I think it needs to be addressed, and the issue of Bryce Harper has made the double standard even more clear.

Bryce Harper targeting umpire after ejection Monday night

    Bryce Harper is one of the biggest stars in sports right now. However, the reigning MVP of Major League Baseball is equally as polarizing. Harper has taken it upon himself to make baseball fun again, but in the process, he is becoming an issue. On Monday night, after mounting frustration boiled over, Bryce Harper was ejected from the game against the Detroit Tigers. Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa struck out on a called third strike. Harper, who was in the dugout at the time, began to argue balls and strikes on his teammate's behalf. He was subsequently tossed from the game by home plate umpire Brian Knight. Knight and Harper had already butted heads in the game when Harper was called out on strikes in the 7th inning. After Harper was ejected, the next batter was pinch hitter Clint Robinson, who ended the game with a walk-off home run. Harper ran from the dugout to celebrate with his team at home plate, and when he got there, he paused his celebration, to seek out Knight, who was standing a few feet away, and shouted an obscenity at him-the "F-bomb" to be exact.

    Harper's attitude in that moment perfectly illustrates the problem. When sports gains a superstar, often times, the ego comes with it. This is not the first time that Harper has "spoken his mind", but this time, he went too far. Way too often in sports, when an athlete and an official get into an argument, we are so quick to take the athlete's side because of who they are. We tend to take their side... even when they're wrong. In situations like this, the event blows up, and we crucify the official and turn the poor defenseless millionaire athlete into the victim. Bryce Harper was wrong. Bryce Harper was selfish. He was thrown out on a call that didn't concern him. He was thrown out because he couldn't let his call go...a call that was correct. Harper struck out. The walk-off home run came from the pitcher's spot in the ninth inning. Had Robinson not hit the home run, the game would have gone to extra innings, and Harper would've come up in the tenth, and whether or not his bat had been there when it counted would've made a huge difference. He got lucky. Harper's ejection was a selfish move. The fact that Harper was ejected while arguing a teammate's call doesn't change anything. In that moment, he chose his own cause over his team.

    Professional athletes are blessed to get paid tons of money to play a game. They are entertainers, but they are not untouchable. An ego has an ability to make people think that they are. Athletes, like everyone else, have someone above them they must answer to, someone who calls the shots. In a way, that umpire is above Bryce Harper. He literally calls the shots. Brian Knight was doing his job, and Harper didn't like it, so quite frankly, he threw a tantrum. Harper was suspended for one game, and fined, and he should have gotten more. Harper is among the many athletes who are role models for the younger generation. The cameras caught his moment of anger, as well as his obscenity. What if a child noticed? How is a parent supposed to explain this behavior to their child.

Durant calls Mavs' owner Mark Cuban an "idiot"

    In a similar situation in the NBA a few days ago, during a press conference, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant called Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban an "idiot' for comments Cuban made about his teammate Russell Westbrook. Cuban said that he thought Westbrook was an all-star, not a superstar. This was Cuban's opinion, which he is perfectly within his rights to express. Durant may not have agreed with his assessment, but his outburst was uncalled for. Team owners rank higher on the food chain than players. Even though Durant does not play for Cuban, the Mavericks' owner is still an authority in his league, and one of the most influential at that. Durant better hope that Mark Cuban is never the one signing his checks, or those words might come back to haunt him.

    The double standard comes when tempers flare. Sometimes officials make the wrong call. They are human. When they do however, they seem to, as I said, get crucified by the media, fans, teams, or basically anyone who has a voice in sports these days. However, when we flip the script, and the athlete gets it wrong, we still blame the official.... because we can. Let's face it-being an official of any kind in any sport is a thankless job. There's a saying in sports that if an umpire is doing their job correctly, you don't notice they're there. Unfortunately for Brian Knight, he was doing his job correctly, and thanks to Bryce Harper, he was noticed. Sometimes, the official gets it right. Look past your team colors and recognize that.

    I realize that sports have been this way for a long time, and I'm not trying to be an advocate for social change where this is concerned, but I do believe that professional athletes need to take the first part of their title more seriously. Be professional. Know who's above you in your league, and compose yourself when your temper tells you otherwise. Know your limits. Whether you like it or not, as a professional athlete, your are a role model. Be mindful of who's watching.

Reverence

    Whether we realize it or not, there is a reverence in sports that we don't see anywhere else in our lives. Sure, the world of sports is a collection of overpaid men and women who play children's games for a living, but let us not the value that professional sports brings to us. These people are, after all, entertainers. We as a society come home from our 9 to 5 office jobs, grab a cold drink and just want to relax, and what is always there to meet us? Sports-the game of the week allows us a chance to leave our stresses behind, if only for a minute, and get caught up in the spirit of competition at the highest level that many of us longed for in our backyards as children. It's true that any sport is just a game, but every once in a while, there is a moment that transcends that very game and becomes more than that, bigger somehow.
   
    Less than 24 hours ago, one of the greatest basketball players of all time stepped off of the court for the final time. Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the best to ever play the sport, and I am lucky enough to say that I tuned in to see every point he scored in the final game of his 20-year NBA career-all 60 of them. For one final time, the man known simply as Kobe laced up his sneakers, ran out of the tunnel, and stood on the floor at Staples Center, and for the 42 minutes that he was on the floor, all eyes were on him. That's right, there are certain moments that transcend sports.

    By the end of 2016, the three major American sports will have said goodbye to one of their most iconic members. In football, Peyton Manning threw his final pass in February, in basketball, the man who is third all time in the NBA is scoring took his final shot one night ago, and in baseball, Vin Scully, the man who has been the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1949, will sign off of his broadcast and close his score book one last time, but thankfully that won't happen until October.



Vin Scully has been Dodgers broadcaster since 1949

   These three men are icons who rose above their sports, become role models for those who only wish they could fill the same shoes. Vin Scully may never have hit a home run, but for 67 years, he continually raised the bar for sports broadcasting. Even today, he fuses baseball and storytelling in a way that seems so overwhelmingly American, that you can't help but listen. Whether he is talking about Greek mythology, stories from the road, or trying to explain what the term G.O.A.T means, what's actually happening in the baseball game takes a back seat, not in the eyes of Scully, but with those who recognize that his voice is forever intertwined with America's pastime. I can truthfully say that I am writing this piece because of Vin Scully. When I first heard him call a game as a little kid, I knew that I wanted a career in sports. So, watch as many Los Angeles Dodgers games as you can this year, listen to his stories. When Vin Scully hangs up the mic in October, the game of baseball will lose one of its greatest legends on or off the field.

Kobe Bryant: 3rd all-time in scoring and oldest player
ever to score 60+ points (37)

    At 37 years old Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his final game, playing 42 of the 48 minutes. Anyone who has watched basketball at any level in the past 20 years has undoubtedly seen a kid who's game was directly influence by Kobe. He is a giant in the game of basketball. Kobe was only expected to play 32-36 minutes in that final game, but he knew the weight it carried. At 16-65, the Lakers were far removed from the postseason well before last night's opening tip. That entire season had been about celebrating Kobe and the final game was no different. At a price tag in the thousands for a nosebleed seat, the weight of the moment stretched far beyond Game 82 of 82 in a miserable season for Lakers fans. It was their last chance to see their hero, their champion play the game he loved so loyally for their city for two decades. Knowing the moment, Kobe muscled through the pain and fatigue when his 37-year old body said no, and kept shooting when he didn't know if he could. The man who was told for years that he shot the ball too much, had finally seen the day when his teammates refused to shoot in his moment. Kobe Bryant, in his final game, shot the ball 50 times, making 22 of them and finishing with a total of 60 points. One last Kobe show. As the final buzzer sounded, Bryant took a look around, grabbed a microphone and said goodbye to his fans, his city, and his game. As he took a right turn into that Lakers locker room, sat at the press conference, and thanked the media one last time, it was clearer than ever in that moment that there would never be another Kobe Bryant. Yes, there are moments that transcend sports.

Manning: 539 career passing touchdowns (most all-time)

    Peyton Manning will go down as arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. He owns every individual passing record, and is the only quarterback in NFL history to lead two different teams to Super Bowl victories. This season, due to his age and a multitude of nagging injuries, Manning had his worst statistical season of his career, prompting many to say it was time for "The Sheriff" to move on. Peyton fought through the injuries and the criticism to get back on the field for the Denver Broncos heading into the playoffs. As a fan of his, I wanted to believe he would be back for another year, but with each passing week towards the end of the season, it became more and more clear that this was Peyton's last run. I cherished every minute of the playoffs, and when they made it to the Super Bowl, I knew this was it. It's a special feeling to see your favorite player play his final game on the biggest stage, and to the surprise of many, Peyton Manning went out a champion. There are moments that transcend sports.

    There's something to be said for calling it a career ahead of time. I like to think that when a player announces his pending retirement before the season begins, that it's his way of getting back to the reasons he, and the reasons we all, fall in love with sports in the first place: for the love of the game. To cherish every moment as it comes, knowing it won't come again is a luxury we don't often get in life. We don't get retirement ceremonies, giant send-offs in front of stadiums full of people, or retired jersey numbers. It is a reminder to us all to cherish the moments we do have, because after the last game is played, after, the locker is cleaned out, and after the lights go out in the arena, all that's left are memories, same as all of us. There are moments in sports that are bigger than the games themselves. The moments when you recognize when something special is happening and the world stops to take notice. Sometimes, sports are just sports.... and sometimes they're not.