New York Times Says A Lot by Saying A Little About LeBron

((ht: sports.yahoo.com))

You know the old saying "A picture is worth 1,000 words"? Never has it been more appropriate than the editors of the New York Times put together the front page of their sports section for Saturday's paper.

Rather than the breathless, "OMG!", "Biggest story ever" headlines that other web sites and papers chose for the announcement, they went with the photo on your right.

And never was more said that by the blank page and small mention in the transactions section.

We at OSG Sports...well, OK, me have some of our own opinions on the whole commotion and it appears they jibe with some but not with some others. (mostly the cynics of the world)

Obviously, the story of James going back to Cleveland was a humungous thing to the "Worldwide Leader". They are the network of celebrity and headliners and treated the story as such.

We don't fault them for that, it's what they do.

And Sports Illustrated found themselves with what was perhaps one of the biggest "Scoops" they've ever had.

LeBron's "Letter to Cleveland" as penned by Lee Jenkins is a fascinating read. It describes a man who has moved on from being a teenager trapped in a man's body to becoming an adult who is considered the best basketball player on the planet.

It's contrite, almost apologetic and describes a man who realizes there may be more to life than basketball.

If you haven't read it, you should. Click on the link RIGHT HERE

There are a LOT of cynics and smart-asses on the Internet who don't seem to respect the decision. Somehow they define a person by what they've done in the past and can't seem to move forward from that.

But that's what the Internet often does.

For us, we'll take the man at his word. He has the time and the opportunity to do everything he says he wants to.

If the man wants to secure his legacy and his place among the greatest athletes of all-time, then he needs to show that the words describe the man rather than just be a creation of a smart P.R department.

ACC Tournament Heading To NYC? A Deal May Be In Place

[HT: Sports Illustrated]

There has been a desire by the ACC to bring their post season tournament to New York City and it looks like that will be the case.

Pete Thamel of SI.com is reporting that the ACC has finalized a multiyear agreement with the Barclays Center to stage the ACC Tournament in that facility.

SOURCES: ACC finalizing multi-year agreement to play ACC Tournament at Barclays Center. http://t.co/xNjMBlWdKD
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) March 14, 2014

The ACC Tournament is a tradition rich event that is a perfect fit when staged on Tabacco Road.  Only a handful of times has the ACC Tournament moved out of the North Carolina borders.

New York City has been on the radar screen within the conference since Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh joined.

Details remain like scheduling conflicts with the Atlantic 10 Conference should the ACC agree to begin in 2017, it's remaining open date.

Jason Collins Comes Out: Should He Have Done It?

((ht: si.com))

First barrier broken. The first active professional athlete in a team sport to come out and say he's gay is now on the record.

In a detailed and amazing story in this weeks Sports Illustrated, long-time NBA Center Jason Collins told his story. He spoke about growing up and trying to adhere to what he believed society says he should have been and about his struggle with coming to grips with it.

It's a fascinating read.

You can read the whole thing RIGHT HERE

Collins says he doesn't need the publicity and doesn't necessarily want to be held up as a standard bearer. He says he just wanted to be honest with himself and let people judge him for who he is.

And who he is is this: Collins is a 12+year veteran of the NBA and has played for nearly a half dozen NBA teams. He has a twin brother whom he says "Never knew" until he told him less than a year ago. Not that it should matter. It shouldn't.

For all the talk of NFL players coming out, the fact is, it hasn't happened and we suspect if it did, those players would be quietly ostracized. We don't necessarily think the NBA will act the same way.

For all of it's odd behavior, entourage's, bling and other things, the NBA has been of all the Pro Sports, the most open minded about things.

Already there has been some talk that; "Okay, great, good for him, but Collins is a guy at the end of his career, does it matter that much?". It does, but it doesn't.

No, it may or may not extend his career, but we're guessing at this point Collins does not care. And really, it shouldn't matter.

Just the fact that he's an active player and did it is more the point. Someone had to do this.

We wish Mr. Collins the best and salute his courage. Despite what the religious right would have you believe, people are entitled to do, live, love and act in the best way THEY see fit. But in reality, there are way too many people who will ostracize him for doing what he should do. And those people should be ashamed of themselves. They say it's "Not god's will" but is it not part of that will to accept, love and respect people for who they are, not who you think they should be?

We'll get off our horse here, but we hope this is something that you'll think about. We live in a very polarized, very closed minded society these days, whether we want to admit it or not. And yet in spite of that, there are open minded people out there who don't see others as a label, a tag or a stereotype but rather what they are and hope to be.

And when it comes down to it, isn't that the way we are all supposed to live?

Jason Collins Says In SI That He's Gay...

((HT: Sports Illustrated/Wertheim et al.))

Jason Collins only came out to his twin brother a year ago...

He's a free agent in the NBA and would like to keep playing the sport...
But this is how he started his first person account in the magazine for this week's cover story...

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already and done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

It will be interesting to see if people look at him differently, if the NBA looks at him differently, or if they're just going to be franchises looking at a serviceable, back-up big.

Collins wants to start a family and he determined that, after the Boston Marathon bombings, that he shouldn't wait any longer to have the "right time" to tell everyone around that he's gay.

More from his account:

I go against the gay stereotype, which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: That guy is gay? But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school. Am I so physical to prove that being gay doesn't make you soft? Who knows? That's something for a psychologist to unravel. My motivations, like my contributions, don't show up in box scores, and frankly I don't care about stats. Winning is what counts. I want to be evaluated as a team player.

Loyalty to my team is the real reason I didn't come out sooner.

Now, let's see if those around him, regardless of the size of the circle will do in kind...

Here's some of what the next NBA team will be getting if they take hold of Collins...
((HT: NBAE))

ICYMI: Tyrann Mathieu vs. SI.com: Allegations flying

((wbrz.com))

It appears more controversy is surrounding exiled LSU football player Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu.

Sports Illustrated reporter Pete Thamel filed a report that was published on SI.com Tuesday afternoon. In that story, Thamel and reporter Thayer Evans documented what they claim is an NCAA violation that would make Mathieu ineligible.

That violation was the use of his and his former LSU teammates likenesses for promotional and payment purposes at a Baton Rouge nightclub, Club Palace.

The story did NOT include an interview with Mathieu.

You can read the SI.com story RIGHT HERE

The story goes on to talk about Mathieu's background, his family issues, his recent visit to John Lucas's rehab facility in Houston and his attempt to earn his way back on the LSU football team.

Mathieu's family and the owners of Club Palace have spoken out, accusing Thamel of harassment. They say he continually called the family from a blocked number after being told repeatedly they didn't want to talk.

According to the Blog "Saturday Down South", Mathieu's family hired a lawyer to make SI stop asking them to talk.

The club owner says no players lent themselves to promotional material and they got no special treatment at the club.

They spoke to WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge:



Oy!

We don't really know a good way to analyze this. It's a mess. It appears, at least on the surface the allegations are sketchy. It's very possible it happened, but it remains a bit odd.

In the meantime, if Mathieu's family can prove the harassment claim, well, then Houston, we've got a problem.

Reporters are supposed to ask for a comment on any story they work on. You know, both sides of the story (Yes---real reporters do this, despite what politicians think). If that subject say no. Then no it is. There's not a legitimate argument for persistently asking and getting the same answer. You say "We reached out to xxxx, he declined our request for an interview". That's it. No debate. Can't justify anything more than that.

It's not the first time Mr. Thamel's co-writer, Thayer Evans has been questioned on tactics. Evans was harshly criticized by Auburn for harassing a professor there about former QB Cam Newton.

We guess, like everyone else, that we'll wait and see just how this plays out. We just hope that it isn't a case of reporters being too aggressive and jumping to conclusions. Only time will tell.