IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!

The above picture is the EXACTLY why I love the NBA more than any other sports league. Casey Holdahl from Oregon Live's Blazers' Blog has posted pictures of the whip Blazers' forward Darius Miles has been pushing this summer. The expression on Head Coach Nate McMillan's face in the picture is priceless. He's probably thinking, "How goddamn big ARE these rims? I'm 6'5 and the car comes up past my nipples. AND IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING ROOF! Besides, who has girls in bikinis, smoking pistols and Benjamin Franklin smoking a spliff painted on the hood of their car? Hopefully they trade this idiot and his $8 million dollar a year contract!"

The reason this is so funny is because EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has watched Darius Miles play even ONE NBA GAME had no doubt that this is what his ride would look like. Honestly, that is what makes the NBA so fascinating to me. The players don't wear pads, helmets or even hats for that matter. Since you can see their faces (except for Rip Hamilton), hair, tattoos and their on court demeanor, you devolop a pretty good idea of what a guy may be like off the court. With football, you would never get the impression just from watching a few games that Arkansas Razorbacks RB and Heisman hopeful Darren McFadden would roll around Fayetteville in this.

In the NFL, it's not all that uncommon for a guy like Chiefs' All-Pro DE Jared Allen to get suspended for four games after picking up his third DUI in four years. But to the fans, it's still somewhat surprising. Since football players' faces are covered, and there is also fifty-plus men on a roster, you just don't get that strong of a feel for what most guys are like away from the game if you don't religiously follow their team. In the NBA, when you hear about a guy like Chris "Birdman" Andersen getting banned from the league for testing positive for illegal drugs, it isn't even the least bit shocking. Especially since he is 6"10 and missed 74 dunks in the 2004 dunk contest while sporting a fresh perm. I think everyone could safely assume that he had to have a drug problem. And that is why the NBA is awesome.

Cam Carey 8/6/07