some NBA bullshit at ESPN

Shocking that everyone (Jack Ramsey, etc.) is all gaga over Hubie Brown as Coach of the Year? Hardly: he's been around for long enough, he's "due," he's "turned around" a franchise that has been mediocre for a long time, added some people that had been pretty good and together they seem really good.

And he's white.

Shocking that everyone (Sam Smith, etc.) is all gaga over Jerry Sloan as "rebel" choice for Coach of the Year? Hardly: he's been around for long enough, he's "due," he's "turned around" a franchise that lost its two best players (who weren't really all that for the last four years or so and Matt Harpring (who is now being lauded like some God of Scoring when in fact he's just Matt fucking Harpring), added some people that had been pretty good and together they seem really good.

And he's white.

Shocking that no one is talking about Terry Porter? Well, to me it is. He's taken a franchise that let go of its THREE "best" (name-recognized) players, rebuilt the whole team around one left-handed square-headed scoring machine from Ohio State, and defied every conventional wisdom thingie in the world. Let's quote from ESPN's pre-season guide:

"With the changes the Bucks made in the off-season, hoping for a playoff spot will be a little bit of a stretch. There is potential in Michael Redd, Tim Thomas, Desmond Mason and [T.J.] Ford will be charged with leading them.With the changes the Bucks made in the off-season, hoping for a playoff spot will be a little bit of a stretch. There is potential in Michael Redd, Tim Thomas, Desmond Mason and Ford will be charged with leading them. The other teams in the East are just too talented for the Bucks to compete with this year. Rookie coach Porter is getting his first shot at heading an NBA club and will be getting his feet wet along with rookie point guard Ford. It will be trial by fire for both of them."

See that: "ROOKIE COACH PORTER"? He's a first-year coach who got his team into the playoffs with a bunch of nobodies and a tiny little rookie. Daniel Santiago was our center for the first half of the season! Now it's Brian Skinner, no one's idea of an Ostertag.

But everyone's all HUBIE and SLOANIE and no one talks about what Terry Porter has done this year. Sorry to pull the race card but argh this drives me crazy.