Charlie Klein
Every morning when I wake up, I usually turn on ESPN2 and watch First Take to see what the crazy Skip Bayless is on about that day. And it's better than watching the same highlights on Sportscenter for the fifth or sixth time.
Today was no exception. And what maniacal statement did I wake up to this morning? That Marcin Gortat is a better all-around player than Dwight Howard. This whole conversation was a result of comments that Howard made about Bayless after the game last night.
“Well Skip Bayless can call me out a million times. I don’t think he’s ever put on a jock strap, stepped on the floor and played any type of basketball. That’s his job. That’s their job to criticize players. Only people that we have to listen to are our coaches. Those are the guys that get paid to make us better players. Skip, he’s called everybody out. He’s called LeBron “Prince James.” LeBron’s one of the best players in the world, and he doesn’t think LeBron is good. It’s somebody just talking.”Now there's nothing particularly personal in those comments, but this morning Skip acted as if Howard had attacked his mother. As a journalist, I do not have a problem with athletes calling out analysts who call them out on a regular basis.
Moreover, Bayless' constant hate of LeBron James is completely unjustified. A player that has been revolutionizing the game for the past four or five seasons deserves all the praise we can give him. The fact that LeBron has not won a championship does not matter much when one is talking about his individual talent.
If championships were the paradigm, Robert Horry would be considered a better player than LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard, when he clearly is not.
So Skip please, for the love of all things beautiful in this world, just shut up. For once.
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