Has the NBA Gone Soft?
HoopsVibe NBA Blog —
Has the NBA Gone Soft? [image] This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells. According to many, including a pretty good number of former NBA players, the league has gone soft. Players today are accused of not being tough and shying away from the contact that made basketball what it was in the late 80s and in the 90s. The NBA used to have enforcers. It wasn t stated that these guys were on the roster just to muscle guys around, but it wasn t said that they weren t. You knew that if you were messing with Isiah Thomas, James Edwards, Bill Laimbeer and John Salley would be out to greet you shortly. You knew that if you drove the lane on the Knicks ...
Old School Friday - When Birds Attack
The Commission —
[image] Realist is in the process of uploading his entire NBA Classics library to Youtube. We have our differences [Kobe MVP!!!!!] but we can both agree that the NBA in the 80's was ridiculously entertaining. Take a gander at the following clip, from the '87 ECF, that he sent us this week. The fun starts at the :45 mark. You know what? I'm glad Stern stomped out white on white violence in the NBA. That shit had potential to get ugly. At any rate, a few observations: 1. Can you imagine Bron throwing the ball at KG after a foul like that? Yeah, me neither. Bird was a G, like Bugs Bunny . 2. Notice how Rodman acted like he wanted to get into with ...
Larry Bird’s Awesome Explosion at Bill Laimbeer
The Big Lead —
The sun rises, and The Commission unearths a fantastic video. This takedown by Laimbeer is downright criminal; Bird’s reaction is priceless. If someone threw the ball at another player like Bird did, would it be an automatic suspension? If Miyagi can go to town on the hamstring of Chauncey Billups, perhaps we’ll be treated to Celtics-Pistons, where the foils would clearly be KG and Rasheed Wallace.
YouTube Classic: Larry Bird goes ballistic
Ball Don't Lie —
Thank you, The Commission! This is exactly the type of stuff I want to watch on a lazy Friday afternoon while eating nuked leftovers. Can you imagine the length of suspensions the league would hand out if this happened in today's NBA? Man, Bill Laimbeer would be dragged out behind David Stern's shed and shot. [High-fives and short-shorts to The Big Lead]
Flagrant 5? - Larry Bird, Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas
CelticsBlog —
At the risk of simply posting whatever Ball Don't Lie has up I had to link to this classic Celtics/Pistons YouTube clip. Bill Laimbeer...wow. It inspired me to make the following comic. In hindsight I wish it were funny.
Bill Laimbeer And Larry Bird Still Don't Like Each Other
Indy Cornrows —
Nice to know there are some things we can still count on. In this NBA era where hugs and friendly banter among stars precede every big game, a couple of '80s rivals maintain a heavy disdain for one another to this day.
Bill Laimbeer, in Indy to coach the WNBA Detroit Shock, was on the air with 1070 The Fan's Eddie White and Bob Kravitz for an extended interview this afternoon. I always hated Laimbeer as a Piston but fully appreciated his game, knowing if he was on my team I'd love the way he drove everyone on the opposition nuts. The whole interview is interesting because Laimbeer is one sharp dude. He's smart, witty and still ...
Bill Laimbeer: Not a Fan of the Highlighter
Rush The Court —
We were granted the opportunity to speak with Bill Laimbeer, a 4-time NBA All-Star, member of 2 NBA Championship teams (”The Bad Boys”) and former team captain of Notre Dame as part of a promotion that Coke Zero is doing for http://www.TasteTheMadness.com.
I have to say going into this interview I was a bit apprehensive. I’m not the world’s smoothest sports interviewer on the planet (as Seth Davis can probably attest to) and Bill Laimbeer has a bit of a reputation although looking back now I can’t remember any Jim “Chris” Everett moments from Laimbeer so maybe my concern ...
