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Sports InsiderBulls Teammates, Joakim Noah and Ben Wallace Join Fight Club.
January 17th 2008 08:33
Like a good barbequed meat, we should wait for it to marinate before passing judgement on the taste. The Chicago Bulls who have been the most disappointing team this season, suspended rookie, Joakim Noah for his apparent insubordination towards Bulls assistant coach, Ron Adams. Initially this story seemed straightforward: rookie messes up. Gets canned. However, just like the marinade, wait for it to settle before the final verdict.
In scenes that mirrored the New York Knicks locker a couple months ago where the players unanimously voted to suspend Stephon Marbury due to quitting on the team, Chicago’s players also did the same, voting to ditch Noah for two games. Ben Wallace was the instigator of the proceedings and his teammates suitably backed the big fella.
Writers and bloggers were up in arms about the insolence shown by a first year player who dared to disrespect a senior authority. Tales started being spun of an immature brat, whose fiery competitiveness is both a blessing and a curse.
Then, the facts slowly started to emerge.
Yes, Noah confronted Adams in a testy exchange, but the rookie was peeved that some of his veteran teammates were quitting on the season. During Michael Jordan’s reign in Chi-Town, punking out of a contest amounted to high treason, punishable by death. MJ would have glassed the player(s) in question.
Now, quitting is seen as a characteristic of valour.
What irked, Noah, in their blowout loss to Orlando yesterday was the sight of players on the bench, led by Ben Wallace, laughing and yukking it up while the team stunk up Disney World. Joakim, according to witnesses, confronted Big Ben (brave man) and told him what he really thought of his efforts. It got so heated that Luol Deng had to come between the two to separate the basketball gladiators.
Ben Wallace has lost a step or two on the basketball court and isn’t nearly as imposing as he once was. What is surprising though is the apathetic attitude of the man in recent times. The intensity he displayed when he played for the Detroit Pistons would make Batman wet his underwear. Nowadays, he just undermines coaches he doesn’t like.
In a somewhat happy ending though, Chicago slaughtered the equally hapless Miami Heat today.
Today’s video is of the police video when LeBron James was stopped for speeding.
Joakim Noah directs his intensity towards the hoop. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
In scenes that mirrored the New York Knicks locker a couple months ago where the players unanimously voted to suspend Stephon Marbury due to quitting on the team, Chicago’s players also did the same, voting to ditch Noah for two games. Ben Wallace was the instigator of the proceedings and his teammates suitably backed the big fella.
Writers and bloggers were up in arms about the insolence shown by a first year player who dared to disrespect a senior authority. Tales started being spun of an immature brat, whose fiery competitiveness is both a blessing and a curse.
Then, the facts slowly started to emerge.
Yes, Noah confronted Adams in a testy exchange, but the rookie was peeved that some of his veteran teammates were quitting on the season. During Michael Jordan’s reign in Chi-Town, punking out of a contest amounted to high treason, punishable by death. MJ would have glassed the player(s) in question.
Now, quitting is seen as a characteristic of valour.
What irked, Noah, in their blowout loss to Orlando yesterday was the sight of players on the bench, led by Ben Wallace, laughing and yukking it up while the team stunk up Disney World. Joakim, according to witnesses, confronted Big Ben (brave man) and told him what he really thought of his efforts. It got so heated that Luol Deng had to come between the two to separate the basketball gladiators.
Ben Wallace has lost a step or two on the basketball court and isn’t nearly as imposing as he once was. What is surprising though is the apathetic attitude of the man in recent times. The intensity he displayed when he played for the Detroit Pistons would make Batman wet his underwear. Nowadays, he just undermines coaches he doesn’t like.
In a somewhat happy ending though, Chicago slaughtered the equally hapless Miami Heat today.
Today’s video is of the police video when LeBron James was stopped for speeding.
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