Bread And Circuses

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Media
Posted on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 08:57:51 AM EST
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All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. - LeBron James in post NBA Final loss press conference.

From a public relations perspective, there is no doubt that this was an idiotic thing for LeBron James to say. (Full disclosure, I invested on the Heat to win the NBA title at the beginning of the playoffs so his failure affected me personally.) But it does raise questions - as sports fans - why do we care so much? And does our caring about sports detract from the rest of our lives? On the flip.

I think there is a certain snobbery of the non-sports fan that is unmerited. There is nothing inherently superior to enjoying the fine arts to enjoying sports. Interestingly enough, the government is involved in supporting both. (for gov't support of sports - see college athletics, government financed stadiums, etc.; for gov't support of the fine arts, see tax preferences and direct government subsidies.) A good argument can be made that the government should be supporting neither. A good argument can be made that government should be supporting both.

I do not think a good argument can be made that government should be supporting one and not the other.

Perhaps underlying LeBron James' statement is the idea that NBA basketball in particular, and sports, in general, should not garner the attention it does. That LeBron James should not be a world famous figure, making the high income that he does for playing basketball (to be clear, in a free market, LeBron James' salary would be multiple time higher, given his skill and marketability.) It certainly is strange to hear this from LeBron James himself.

I am not convinced by the argument. The pursuit of entertainment is a subjective one. Some gain it from watching reality TV. Others from watching cooking shows or home refurbishment shows. Some enjoy the opera. Others go to Disney World. Some engage in physical activities themselves. Some pay attention to politics.

Most combine their choices among the multitude of options life offers. Does anyone really care TOO much about any of these pursuits? More than likely there are isolated cases of harmful obsessions.

But reality provides us with the knowledge that it is the person who allows these entertainments to overwhelm their personal lives who faces the problems, not the ones who "wake up tomorrow and have the same life."

Today LeBron James' life is worse than it was yesterday. Because money and fame are not everything to him. I credit James with enough pride in his skills that not winning hurts him deeply.

Regular readers know of my passion for Florida Gators sports. But you will never see me refer to them as "we." I am not one of them, even though I root for them. And while I wake up depressed the day after their losses, it never is for long. And I never forget that "we" did not lose. I think most sports fans are like that. LeBron James may figure that out in time.

Speaking for me only

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Bread And Circuses | 40 comments (40 topical)

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Well said BTD... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by kdog on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 10:12:14 AM EST

no hobby/leisure activity is inherently superior to another...it's all a matter of taste.

I have my opinions on which have more societal value, but there is no right or wrong answer. To each their own life, and their own ride pursuing happiness.

I am guilty of saying "we" or "my" when it comes to my local teams...they represent the city/university, the fans may not play but they are part of the family, and usually for life...unless crap owners like Jimmy Dolan and Fred Wilpon run 'em off with their greed and incompetence:)

Pretty Sure This Gets Fed... (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by ScottW714 on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 10:21:20 AM EST

... by sports media. How many Cleveland fans were interviewed in Cleveland about a game/series that had nothing to do with Cleveland, way too F many IMO.

Those interview clips are cherry picked, and to some, maybe even James, Cleveland appears to have an extremely deep rooted interest in him not winning. They hate his guts, or at least that is the angle they are pushing. They even claimed, not kidding, that there wasn't a person in Cleveland that wanted him to win, in one segment.

As a pretty solid fan of football, I like BTD feel a loss, but generally it's gone in a day. Wins to me last longer, forget the losses and remember the wins, otherwise sports will kill you. I do refer to 'my team' and what 'we' do, even though they are in Green Bay and I am in Houston. It's my homeland and I still feed the need to connect. But nothing more, just verbiage I never really gave any sort of deep thought.

I went through the Favre debacle. the sports media was pushing the hatred of Packers fans and it wasn't anything that I was seeing from family, friends, or at the Packer Bar here. Seemed to me they were pushing the mem to get fans riled up, with no regards to it's truthiness.

We love Favre and wished him only the best with the except of direct competition games. And even those we never wanted him to fail, just for his team to lose. I know the Obama conundrum, but that's were we, the fans I know, were at.

Anyways, I think it would be wise for Jame to realize that just because the media is pushing the 'Cleveland hates you line' doesn't make it true. Let it go big man.

Either way he needs to focus on why they lost, not what his former fans are doing.

I think (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by call me Ishmael on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 10:57:41 AM EST

that BTD is being too hard on Lebron here. If you read more of the actual quotation you will see that James' point is that he will go on and continue year in and year out to do his best and that this is just one moment. And his point is that the satisfaction that people take in his loss (and I have to admit that I was rooting for Dallas because of the whole shenanigans over James' move) will pass exactly as BTD says they will. I actually thought James was showing a great deal of maturity in the statement.

"Do his best?" From what I have (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by Anne on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:30:04 AM EST

read and listened to, there aren't many who think LeBron actually did his best; Miami seems to have played as if they were entitled to the championship, while Dallas played like a team that wanted to show they deserved the championship.

Maturity? I didn't get that at all from his remarks - it sounded like more entitlement to me.


If that was LeBron's best, (none / 0) (#13)
by brodie on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:20:23 PM EST

the Heat ownership should be demanding he take a 50% pay cut for the remainder of his salary period.

This one was an even more glaring example of LeBron seeming to disappear in crunch time -- basically the 4th qtr and down the stretch in that final period -- consistently in the series. He did something similar, though slightly less noticed because just the 2d round of the playoffs, last year vs the Celtics, his final year with the Cavs.

Something going on inside this guy's head -- I don't think he's fully comfortable handling the pressure to be the main go-to guy; not every sports superstar is able to both accept the pressure and perform according to high expectations, and so he might be fearing failure.

He may also have some personal issues with D Wade on his current team, though that's mostly my speculation. Clearly they seem not to be on the same page as to who's going to be getting the ball most of the time in the clutch, or who should get it.


Whoa now! (none / 0) (#27)
by ks on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 06:44:09 PM EST

LeBron was the main go to guy on those suspect Cavs squads for 7 years and he delivered way more often than not. People talk about that Celts series but forget all the times he carried that scrub squad. even so, his numbers in that series were bananas. In the current crazed sports media environment, if Lebron plays great and his team loses, he'a a "stat stuffer", if the doesn't play well and his team loses, he "choked". The Heat are a work in progress and I suspect they will figure it out sooner rather than later. They almost did this year.

The interesting thing is the "comfortable handling the pressure to be the main go-to guy" argument could be more accurately made against the leader of "collectivist luch bucket Mavs". Prior to this year, Nowitzki has led several talented Mavs teams to spectacular playoff collpases (e.g. first round exits, losing to an 8th seed as the 31 seed, etc.). The difference this year wasn't their "lunch bucket" approach, though they did have savy vets and a smart coach. It was that for the first time in years, nobody expected the Mavs to do anything in the playoffs this year. So, they could play with "house money" and just play ball.


: Concur in part, dissent in part. (5.00 / 1) (#28)
by brodie on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 07:11:00 PM EST

Agree the Mavs before the playoffs were tagged by everyone as the team most likely to find another way to choke, and therefore they tended to sneak up on teams and surprise them. Compared to the 10+ pressure level on LeBron and Heat this year, the Mavs were at about a 2.
As to LeBron, no question he's performed well in playoff games, even at key times. But the striking thing isn't just his inconsistency in crucial times down the stretch, but the way he's been inconsistent. As in curious, uncharacteristically passive behavior which suggests there's something going on in his head, that he's refusing to take the reins as superstars are supposed to do, that he's trying to even send a message to someone on the team -- Wade or head coach probably -- that he doesn't appreciate the criticism (as in G. 3 when Wade chewed him out for poor play).
Yes, it's possible the Heat might get it together and, with the addition of a decent couple of players and a different more team-oriented mindset -- after a few months of intensive pro sports counseling from a professional -- they could go all the way next year. Then it's also possible they may need to make a major change in personnel -- sometimes 3 great stars (let's give Bosh the benefit here) don't mesh well in basketball, especially when two of them already need the ball a lot to be happy.
LeBron did in fact largely disappear as his usual dominating, go-to-the-rack player, especially in crunch time. Sorry, but in most games in the Finals, that was the case. Very odd behavior, which LeBron and the team will need to address frankly if they want to win a title. Otherwise, we could see a repeat choke fest next year, against the same Mavs or Lakers or whoever.

I don't think that's true (none / 0) (#25)
by ks on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 06:10:47 PM EST

Lebron was amazing in the first three rounds of the playoffs, particularly against his old nemesis Celtics and the talented upstart Bulls who in fact had the best record in the NBA and were the "#1 seed" in the playoffs.

He faltered against the Mavs which, imo, was partly due to the outrageous minutes he played and having to give max effort on both ends of the floor to keep the Heat competitive and his own mental exhaustion.

The idea that the Heat played as if they were "entitled" is a nonsense media narrative. This was a very competitive and hard fought series where the teams went back and forth and the games weren't decided until the last few minutes or seconds.

In terms of his comments, considering all the irrational vitrol that has been heaped upon him, he's been quite restrained and given the question itself (paraphrasing - "what would you say to people who take joy in you losing?") his response was fairly reasonable.

There are no easy answers here. (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by Gerald USN Ret on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:33:02 AM EST

Should Lebron just keep quiet, and not talk to the media? Probably he has to talk some, due to the NBA and team sports contracts, but he could just be very bland.

e.g. "We tried hard, but came up short." -----That is very truthful, but Wow, that would get criticism.

Fame and celebrity-hood have great rewards, but make no mistake about it, there is great likelihood of backlash especially in sports, and if your feelings and ego can be hurt easily, then you have to shield yourself.

Not a good quote (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Dadler on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:40:10 AM EST

He really should just zip it and go have a nice, quiet offseason.

LeBron stunk in the finals, as badly as I can remember a star playing smelling it up. The Heat, in general, looked like they just fell back into early-season, we-have-no-idea-how-to-play-together- yet form.

Congrats to the Mavs, nice gesture by Cuban to bring up the founder and original owner of the franchise to accept the championship hardware.

Hey, thanks a bunch for throwing in (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by oculus on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:43:35 AM EST

opera as a legit interest. I do say "my Padres," but, since 1998, I no longer get depressed when they lose. This is a good thing. I also don't get depressed when an opera performance doesn't meet my expectations. Wondering if the depression, albeit fleeting, stems from the "investing."

Depression... (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by kdog on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:00:40 PM EST

is one of the signs of an "investing problem", according to "Investors Anonymous"...lol.


Dr. Drew plus 12 steps. (none / 0) (#12)
by oculus on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:07:44 PM EST

: Would that be (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by CoralGables on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:47:48 PM EST

an unlucky 13 steps?

Sounds like LeBron was feeling (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by brodie on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:07:38 PM EST

more than a little defensive about his puzzlingly subpar crunch-time performance in these playoffs and, not wanting to dwell on that one too much publicly, or not being able psychologically to handle that heavy burden quite yet, he chose instead to go after the loser fans who've been hounding him with their juvenile sports hatred since his move from Cleveland.

In doing so however he comes off a little too much like the spoiled rich athlete gloating about being able to fall back on his wealth and many mansions, while the little people nipping at his heels have to go back to their tiny apartments and lousy minimum-wage jobs, if any.

Beyond the self-centered individualist LeBron though, this was a major victory for collectivists* with the Mavs team-oriented, hard-working lunch-bucket style of play. And who woulda thunk that a place like Dallas, TX would produce a team of other-oriented socialists and not a bunch of self-centered and selfish libertarian types that we normally associate with that state.

* h/t to Comrade Rick Carlisle

Team sports and fanaticism (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 01:55:29 PM EST

is fine when it's tied to sports team.

Fan-ship can be sooo destructive, sometimes, that I almost wish we had no sports teams. It creates bad habits that migrate into other areas.

Politics, for instance....

Unfortunately, too many are are fanpeople about politics as well. My Democrats/Republicans can do no wrong! The other side is CRAZZZZZY!

Sigh.

I am a certified sports nut (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by BobTinKY on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 02:50:15 PM EST

all things Boston.

However, you are right. The viewing of politics, which policies directly impacting upon us all are being considered, accepted or rejected; as a horse race or popularity contest is perhaps the most maddening aspect of our current state of affairs.

It is always who is up , who is down who is winning. In answer to the last it certainly hasn't been the average American at any time in recent memory.


go Bruins! (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by CST on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 02:55:32 PM EST

If we didn't have sports... (none / 0) (#19)
by kdog on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 03:01:35 PM EST

would we double-down on politics as sport? iow, would our state of political affairs be even worse?

I wonder...I do tend to think of sports as a healthy outlet for our competitive nature.


There is the old saying that (none / 0) (#20)
by brodie on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 03:28:00 PM EST

sports is the continuation of politics by other means, just as politics is the continuation of war.

Could be ... I mean, ever since boxing in this country went from being a top-tier sport, at least at the heavyweight level, we've seen a definite coarsening of our politics, with more punches thrown compared to yesteryear (seemingly), often of the below-the-belt variety.

So, maybe we need to re-embrace boxing as a nation, or, preferably, build up Americans' enthusiasm for hockey where plenty of boxing matches occur.


: On a personal level... (none / 0) (#21)
by kdog on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 03:37:22 PM EST

I credit rec league rough touch football for keeping me a non-violent peace loving cat...I save any violent urges for fall & winter Sunday mornings and take it all out on the first receiver that comes in my zone.
Granted, my 150 lbs soaking wet violent shove isn't all that violent...but its still a good release:)
And when it comes time for root for a team, I stick to the Mets Jets Knicks and Islanders...election time I don't do teams or parties...too important to reduce it to us vs. them sport.

I appreciate what athletes can do, but (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by observed on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 05:00:24 PM EST

I have to admit a reverse snobbery about their salaries. If someone is getting millions of dollars just to throw/catch/hit a ball, I'm not as interested in watching. I suppose it's jealousy, but that's how I feel.
It seems to me there was a time when professional athletes seemed to have something in common with the general public. Now, I see sports as rich people watching rich people, in stadiums paid for by poorer people.

There is something seriously wrong (none / 0) (#38)
by brodie on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 10:56:30 AM EST

about a society that so richly rewards its professional athletes while severely underpaying most blue-collar workers who've built the necessary infrastructure for our country, or public school teachers or nurses.

It makes me uneasy to consider that a baseball player like A-Rod makes just in one at-bat roughly an amount of money equal to what the average wage earner makes in an entire year.

Probably some of the major Hollywood stars have comparable ridiculously high salaries which would produce similar stunning comparisons with the average American worker. But at least Tinseltown has sought to reduce some of the salary excesses in the past decade. Professional sports, not so much.

Not that it was a great situation for athletes in the old days, when they were at the opposite end of the salary spectrum and being denied the ability to put their skills on the open market because of owner greed and collusion. Both situations represent extremes.

Nothing for us fans to do but withhold our money and viewership if we feel strongly enough about it. I've done so wrt MLB completely, and have seriously reduced attending/viewing the NBA to the extent I used to. I still have my NFL/college gridiron needs, however. Still, overall I've cut back.


I wouldn't though want (none / 0) (#39)
by brodie on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 11:04:47 AM EST

a life where we had few if any entertainment outlets, and it was only a grim existence contemplating, say, hunger and joblessness in America. I think we all need to be sidetracked once in a while -- as Lincoln noted once in the WH when a friend offered him a funny story, then stopped and apologized for wasting the president's time when he had so many grave issues to deal with. Nonsense, said Abe -- in fact, without the occasional amusing diversions, he would have gone insane.

As for the LA-NFL situation, that sounds ridiculous if indeed the local authorities are trimming in one absolutely essential area while offering to find money for a non-essential item. Doubly ridiculous when we consider the undeniable fact that L.A. is historically not a rabid NFL town, not even close. Not sure what Mayor Villaraigosa is thinking (assuming he's supporting the NFL team effort), but if so it's not only bad politics for him but bad policy for the city and its residents. Appalling misplaced priorities.


: Dallas & JFK Assassination (none / 0) (#42)
by MKS on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 10:04:33 PM EST

The Dallas Cowboys were beloved in the 60s because as one sportswriter wrote, Dallas did not want to be known as the City that killed the President. Winning was redemption.
Back in the 60s, Dallas was the team that "Couldn't Win the Big One." Twice losing to Lombardi's (arguably less-talented Packers) in the closing seconds. Then inexplicably losing to the Browns in the playoffs. And then, a last minute loss to the Colts in the Super Bowl known as the Super Blooper Bowl for the combined some 8 or 9 turnovers. Winning against Miami in the Super Bowl was redemption.
And, why is Texas so football crazy? Because some of those towns are dying and have nothing else.
As to LA getting another NFL team, big yawn, no one here cares, and no one wants to pay for it. Ain't gonna happen. The Dodgers and the Angels and the Lakers are enough, especially when you consider USC and UCLA team sports.

I'm glad that I married someone not that into (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Militarytracy on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 05:00:35 PM EST

sports unless he is playing. But he likes woodworking. He has about 20 projects "started" and I went looking for him this past weekend and I find him in his shop pushing this huge chunk of tree stump through a $1000 planer. I ask him what he's doing, and he wanted to see what it would do. He did get one project finished this past weekend though, but I think it was only because I was so cross that he was pushing a tree stump through something very expensive as another experiment in his life of many experiments.

I don't follow the basketball either... (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by desertswine on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 10:27:07 PM EST

But we all have our hobbies of one sort or another. Just today I finished putting together a set of 1955 Bowman football cards. It took me two and a half years, and now, on to the next set.


I guess everyone has their extra activities (none / 0) (#34)
by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 09:23:49 AM EST

I always have my dogs. And Josh's new service dog is a big poodle so I have been learning how to groom her. Groomers around here seem to lose their enthusiasm when they find out she is a standard poodle. My daughter had a poodle when she was little but it was a tiny poodle. It's hard to believe what goes into grooming a poodle. Doing it well really is an art. I have a really big poodle to practice on though.


Tell me about it! (5.00 / 1) (#35)
by Zorba on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 09:52:33 AM EST

Our dogs have all been standards, because of Mr. Z's allergies. I taught myself how to groom them- brush, bathe, clip, ear cleaning, nail trimming. They got a short kennel clip in the hot weather, and a longer lamb clip in the winter. Did they look as "polished" as what the pros do? No, but that was fine with me- we live on a farm, they didn't need to look like dog show contestants; it would have looked ridiculous.

I always found shaving their paws to be a major pain in the rear. Keep an eye on the dog's ears, too. If he has really hairy ear canals, get some ear powder, dust his ears inside, and pluck the hair out regularly (using a pair of hemostats- don't grab too many hairs at a time). Clean them about once a week, with ear cleaner.


She is so smart (5.00 / 0) (#36)
by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 10:08:29 AM EST

She has very hairy ears. And I had read several instructions on pulling the hairs in her ears. I flinched though the first time I did it, and that little stinker is so smart the next time she yelped after watching me flinch. I have a very experienced behaviorist as a facebook friend though, and her mother was a professional show groomer and I contacted her about having to hurt my dog. She told me that my dog was having me over, poodle ears aren't that sensitive. I told her that the first time I did it I flinched equating to having to pluck my hair and there was so much of this. And the very smart poodle seems to have picked up from me that this was supposed to hurt a lot.


: Yes, the vet told me (5.00 / 1) (#41)
by Zorba on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 12:39:54 PM EST

the same thing. They're not that sensitive. The only thing you might want to be careful of is using the liquid ear cleaner after hair removal- if the cleaner has alcohol in it, it might sting her a bit. Because I was just not into brushing a dog's teeth every day, I also got pretty good at using a dental pick to remove tartar on their teeth (fortunately, none of my dogs was mouth sensitive). As a result, they needed veterinary dental cleaning only very rarely.
And poodles certainly are smart; they're very good at picking up cues from us. They can also be very good at figuring out ways to get into mischief. ;-)

LOL! (5.00 / 1) (#32)
by Nemi on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 07:12:01 AM EST

You have my sympathy. :)


Just reading what LeBron said (none / 0) (#1)
by ruffian on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 09:33:15 AM EST

without looking at context, I took it as a reference to the fans that react with (what I think anyway) is excessive vitriol. Maybe he reads too many comments at sports blogs. I don't think he counted on the viciousness of the vitriol being hurled his way in response to the hype of 'The Decision'. I say the hype of the decision, because I hear people who could not care less about the actual decision say that they "hate" him because of the hype.

I can't imagine he thinks there is too much attention paid to sports in general.

I won't diatribe about this again, but I was a huge sports fan until recent years. It is not the players that have turned me off, but rather the commercials on the teevee and many of the fans.

"We" (none / 0) (#5)
by AngryBlackGuy on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:07:28 AM EST

I too invested in LeBron and the most painful part was the trash talking I am receiving from my friends.

But in any event, people like to be a part of a tribe or a team. The same things that drive nationalism and religious grouping and cliques in high school and fraternities, etc. drive our identification with sports teams.

It makes no logical sense, but it fills a void for a lot of people who like the feeling of being connected to others.

I am not that way (I tend to root for the opposite of the team everyone else is rooting for because I always identify with that position . . . shocking, I know) but I understand the need to be part of something greater.

If calling the Gators "my team" for example does it for a person, more power to them.

In any event, people are paying to support the program through taxes and otherwise, so technically, they are a part of the team anyway.

An interesting stat (none / 0) (#15)
by CoralGables on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 01:31:17 PM EST

Ranking by salary in the NBA:
Dirk Nowitski 10th 17.3 Million
LeBron James 22nd 14.5 Million

Ranking of the Combination of Average Points/Rebounds/Assists per game for all players during the 2011 NBA Playoffs:
Dirk Nowitski 7th (team leader)
LeBron James 8th (team leader)

Ultimately, as stats go, throughout the playoffs Dirk and LeBron were nearly identical. One just happens to be a player people like to hate.

i think it's pretty obvious (none / 0) (#24)
by pitachips on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 05:56:28 PM EST

James was saying "yes I lost but tomorrow I get to wake up a millionaire many times over, while many of you (fans) wake up uncertain about whether you're going to be able to make your next mortgage payment."

But our language would (none / 0) (#26)
by oculus on Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 06:25:58 PM EST

be so diminished w/o sports metaphors and post loss interviews.

Seems like sports reporters are getting as lazy (none / 0) (#33)
by ruffian on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 08:15:37 AM EST

as political reporters - relying on the mass press conference for their quotes instead of doing leg work on their own. Stenographers.


: I was thinking of the players and managers (none / 0) (#40)
by oculus on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 11:56:43 AM EST

post-game stuff in baseball, the only sport I follow. Always amusing.

Ditto on the gambling comments. (none / 0) (#37)
by brodie on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 10:47:26 AM EST

Never understood why it's so enticing to some people, though I can understand people of modest means buying the occasional lottery ticket or playing some friendly penny-ante poker with friends. Beyond that, it seems a collossal waste of time and money, and on a left-legal board like this, it's seems particularly out of place. Not to mention it's a huge bore to see bloggers go on and on citing this week's point spreads.