Professional penis, and ESPN reporter, Darren Rovell, decided to do his usual yesterday in making the rounds of pot shotting unexpected people via Twitter, and it looks like he might have poked the wrong bear. First, let's explore how this started...
Va Tech took Nigel Munson over Steph Curry. He left VT after his freshman season, averaging 3 pts, 1 assist per game pic.twitter.com/97Mp8nReiC— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 4, 2015
Not sure why he decided to throw Nigel Munson under the bus like that, but hey, such is the life of Darren Rovell. Immediately, ACC Network Analyst and former NCSU star Julius Hodge came to Munson's defense...
Good job of shaming Nigel Munson in order to praise Steph Curry this morning @darrenrovell. I hope you sleep well. smh #VaTech #Warriors— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) May 4, 2015
as if EVERY SCHOOL AND COACH in America didn't do their due diligence in recruiting Steph Curry.— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) May 4, 2015
@darrenrovell 1. @SethOnHoops passed on HOF as EVERY1 did. So? 2. UNC didn't offer him scholly neither. 3. U know how hard these kids work?— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) May 4, 2015
And that's when Tech alumna and former VT volleyball player and coach's daughter, Paige Greenberg got into the fray and rightfully put him in his place...
@darrenrovell @Follow24Hodge Get some balls & mention your coworkers name, @SethOnHoops, when tweeting about something you know 0 about.— Paige Greenberg (@pgberg) May 4, 2015
wow, Paige basically told Rovell "grow a pair and name names". sounds like she grew up in my neck of the woods.— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) May 4, 2015
And before we even get into the whole "oh Seth missed out so badly on Steph" argument that always happens whenever he is mentioned, there's this little nugget that should be remembered by all....
.@Follow24Hodge He could have RS then played 4yrs. Dell said he wasn't ready. Sonya said he could. Happy wife, happy life.— Paige Greenberg (@pgberg) May 4, 2015
Yeah... we offered Steph a scholarship, but a deferred one if he agreed to redshirt his first season, and then play all 4 years. Dell wanted Steph to do it, as he didn't think Steph was ready for the collegiate game, but they still rejected it and went to Davidson because Mrs Curry wanted to see her son playing right away. Nobody else outside of Davidson was even willing to offer a scholarship, and yet somehow we're the villain...
Comments
Anyone recall the photo gallery from a tournament we played (Alaska, i think) where Paige was screaming at one of the officials?
I googled searched for it, didn't find it but I did find several other very nice pictures.
troll on rovell. the dude is an absolute moron
This was a quality post. Thanks for putting it together.
The one thing that surprises me most about this situation is that people actually still pay attention to what goes on in the NBA. Go figure.
NBA is more popular than ever while college hoops is in a state of decline
Really? Among my circle of (admittedly older) friends, the NBA could not be more irrelevant. College hoops is still the best basketball product around to me. And yes, I still think we should have had both Currys on our team, but that point is so moot, I am ashamed I still felt like mentioning it. Yeah, everybody else whiffed on them too, but like my momma used to say "You don't do something just because everybody else is doing it". And for the record, I liked Seth and don't hold it against him in any way. This is just my feelings on the matter, in retrospect.
The league right now is the best it's been since the Jordan days. Teams are deeper than ever, they're getting smarter about who they sign, and defense is a valued asset, unlike in the early 2000's. I would highly encourage you to flip over to the NBA Playoffs. It really is basketball at its finest.
You know, it might be different if I lived an urban lifestyle, had a team in my city, and was a fan because of that. I was absolutely a fan back in the days of Jabbar and Magic, Michael and Scotty, Larry and the Celtics, but either I changed or something happened to cause me to just gradually lose interest. Glad you are finding enjoyment there, it's always fun to watch sports when you have a rooting interest, be it curling or your kid's soccer game. Good luck to your team!
here, here. I stopped watching the NBA when most of those players retired from the sport.
Clippers - Spurs series was awesome! Chris Paul was a beast while injured in Game 7.
That said, I don't watch the NBA regular season much, but the playoffs are great drama.
I think college basketball is a fantastic spectator sport. Like it almost as much as college football.
It really was. I don't like to talk about "grit" and "gutting it out" because I think those terms are overused... but what Chris Paul did was up there with any performance I've ever seen. He simply decided that a hamstring injury wasn't going to stop him. The 40 ft. running jumper at the end of the third, then hitting the game winner left me speechless. I made my wife watch the replay of the game winner about 10 times and just kept laughing and saying ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was an unbelievable game, unbelievable series.
As I recall it was the Jordan-rules that first turned me off of the NBA. That and being a Cavs fan.
i'm 42 and moved away from college basketball after the 2 butler finals. not because of them, but the product is general is rubbish. they can come back, the nba did. remember post jordan ... ooof. rules changes and style of play, 2 things the college game needs. both need better, more consistent officiating tho.
you can have 62-58 games (if you're lucky they score that much) those games are shit.
I scored some great seats to a playoff game last year. You really have to go see an NBA game in person to realize how tall, athletic, fast, and superior the NBA is to college basketball (and I have always been a CBB homer). And it is not even close. It is starting to get back to the level of the NBA of the early 90s as far as being entertaining on television. It is harder to play defense in the NBA. Players you have to guard are just at another level then they are in college, and you also have defensive 3 second violation in NBA so its harder to help. The shot clock being 24 seconds really keeps the action going as well. There arent alot of roster spots so this keeps the level of play really high
Leg for opinion, but I'm gonna respectfully disagree.
I've been to a few NBA games, even scored some 3rd row seats and while I am impressed with the thoroughbred athletes I am am not impressed with the entire product.
Geezer glasses on here, but I grew up in heart of ACC country going to the games and ACC tournaments and, to me, that was the best basketball ever. The heart and soul and effort of every team was evident and each game had upset potential due to the level of player/coaching, etc. Watching the crops of talented senior guards run the offenses was a joy.
Then, I went to VT during the Dell, etc age and the Cassell was an incredibly intense loud atmosphere that was very difficult on visitors.
I try to 'get' the NBA, but IMHO, the NBA destroyed the college game with the start of early departures, and the NBA is not that much improved with the influx of immature unripened athletes. (Yes, I'd go early and take the money too, if given the chance.)
my issue with college is it takes 20 seconds or more on the shot clock to get off a decent to bad shot. dribble up the court of 8 seconds, over dribble, pass, pass, pass for another 12+, likely 15 seconds settle for a bad shot too many times. it's not good d, it's awful o. d is better in the nba and they get shots off, better ones in 15 seconds.
don't confuse better atmosphere and what the college game was 20-30 yrs ago to what it is now. if the unripened athletes are an issue for the nba, how are they not an issue in college, since they are same guys? i'd also argue the nba talent level now is almost as good as the early 90's dream team era. lots of mature young guys playing very well right now.
The biggest problem the NBA has always had is that during the regular season a single possession means very little. Postseason possessions mean much more and the players step up their games noticeably on O and D.
College basketball, in it's never-ending quest to become NBA lite, is quickly becoming this way with teams playing 30+ regular season games (in which who you lose to is more important than who you beat) plus 2 or 3 meaningless conference tourney games before getting to any games that really matter. All to be one of 4-6+ teams from a power 5 teams to get a chance to play 1 to 6 meaningful games.
Just wait until the 30 second clock is put in place...if you think you see dumb shots now...
agree the shot clock won't fix poor shooting, overcoaching, and too much physicality. shooting %'s will lower.
Totally agree with this. Behind Hokie football, NBA games are the most fun to attend IMO. Fans are usually decent enough that they aren't obnoxious (unlike NFL games in person), but at the same time exciting enough that the place isn't deathly silent either. The only NBA games I've ever been to are Wizards games, and I leave amazed every time. But keep in mind, I am also a huge NBA fan. Probably not a great sporting event to attend if you a) don't give a rip about either team playing or b) don't know anything about the NBA.
NHL is a lot more fun to attend than NBA in my opinion. Admittedly I am not a huge NBA fan but I think the action in an NHL game is rare to be beaten by any sport. There is excitement every moment.
The way you feel about the NBA is the same way I feel about the NHL. I've been to exactly one hockey game my whole life and can honestly say that was the first full hockey game I've ever watched.
I went to a Wizards game about a month ago (right before the playoffs) and it was a complete snooze-fest. I went to a Caps playoff game and, outside of Lane Stadium, it was the most intense sporting event atmosphere I have ever been a part of. It was absolutely awesome. If you haven't been to an NHL playoff game you're seriously missing out. I can't speak to the regular season hockey games, but with so many of them I could see how it may not be very exciting. In my mind, though, Hockey is a much cooler sport than Basketball. Matter of opinion, of course.
For me, hockey is the best sport to attend live. It's much harder to appreciate the speed, skill, and hitting on TV without having been to a game first. It's constant action with few stops and the sounds that you hear live (hits on the boards, sticks hitting the pucks, etc) add an element that you can't replicate on TV. In my opinion no other sport offers the same thing. Baseball comes in second because there is no better sport to be able to hang out with a friend, grab a beer and catch up while still being able to follow what's going. Aside from the atmosphere, football is better on TV. Admittedly I'm not really into basketball and soccer so I can't really rank them.
You're also comparing fan bases though. Watch a Warriors home playoff game on TV. That atmosphere rivals hockey
I second that. The NBA lost me as a fan many years ago, about the same time I moved up north and discovered hockey. There is nothing like playoff hockey...
you make a very valid point about fans at nba games vs nfl. i am a nba guy, but i'll concede playoff hockey life, is intense.
That is honestly shocking to me. I find the NBA unwatchable and don't come in to contact with many who follow it. Might have something to do with the hometeam being the Wizards though.
... the Wizards who, incidentally, are in the second round of the playoffs and are likely to give the top-seeded Hawks a tough series?
i think they make the eastern conference finals vs the bulls.
I'm pulling for ATL, but WAS moving on wouldn't be a huge shock.
I know. I tried to watch the wiz in the first round because they were in the playoffs. Never again.
You mean the first round series where we swept Toronto? Yeah, if that series didn't excite you as a Wizards "fan" then maybe the NBA isn't for you, because that was honestly an achievement I never dreamed would have occurred during this season of all times.
Leg for the Wizards comment, but DC/NOVA really doesn't support their NBA team like so many other big-market cities do. Outside of downtown DC, it's pretty hard to find any Wizards memorabilia being sold anywhere in NOVA. It's seriously such a Nats/Caps town compared to the Wizards. And of course, the fans of DC sports won't support anything less than a consistently crappy Redskins team. And as well they shouldn't be expected to.
I was a huge Bullets fan as a kid. Loved Elvin Hayes.
When Abe Pollin got on his holier than thou high horse and changed the name with that stupid fix-was-in naming contest to the dopey "Wizards" with lame colors and emblem, I swore I would never root for them again. The good news is that they've made it so easy not to root for them. Bad management, bad personnel decisions, bad marketing...you name it. I personally know a former Bullet (who is still actively involved with college and pro basketball) who will have nothing to do with the organization.
Hopefully the emblem and color changes indicate that Leonsis will change the name back back to the Bullets. But he'll probably lame out and change it to something almost as bad as the Wizards like "Monuments".
I feel better now...
Yeah... I hope the Monuments thing never happens. First of all, that's such a crappy copy of the Nationals' name; that's worse than the Wizards name IMO. And also, tell me the name "Washington Monuments" doesn't sound like a cellar-dwelling WNBA team.
which is a crappy copy of the Capitals' name.
Did they not go with Senators because the NHL team already had the name? Senators is/was the perfect name for a Washington sports team, IMO.
The last Washington baseball team was the senators. In addition to the NHL team, I'm guessing the new ownership people wanted to create a new #brand. Especially since the two teams share no history, and the Washington Senators were usually quite bad
I am pretty sure that the Texas Rangers still own the "Washington Senators" name. Just like the current Nationals own "Montreal Expos"
ummmm
Ah, right...that makes complete sense. IIRC, the Browns specifically negotiated retention of the Browns name with the NFL/Art Modell when he moved them to Baltimore.
You hit it right on the head there...
Which is a bummer, DC should have a huge following for a successful NBA team.
Think of all the guys from VA/DC/MD (Durant, Melo, Elgin Baylor, Iverson, Moses Malone, etc.), and your closest competition being Charlotte and Philly who are regularly competing for lottery picks.
DC loves the Skins first, and then probably the Caps, Nats and the Zards are lagging behind -- hoping that some sustained success with Beal/Wall changes that.
You act as if the Wizards have been struggling despite a ton of success. Yeah, sure they had a few good years in the mid 2000s, but that franchise has been a mess since the late 80s, having 9 seasons of 30 wins or less over the last 15 years, and only breaking the .500 mark 17 times in the 40 years since they became the Washington Bullets... They haven't exactly been a franchise worth cheering for.
This is so True. I'd love to see the Wizards in Baltimore. Baltimore's a smaller market, and I doubt Baltimore could provide as large of a fan base, but they would provide more die-hard local fans.
I have a confession.....I have watched more Legends League football (formerly the Lingerie League, I think?) in the past two weeks than I have NBA games in the past 5 years. Admittedly, my time devoted to the ladies was less than 10 minutes total, although I did comment to my son that I didn't understand why the LLF wasn't more of a thing.
Let's be honest. If Steph Curry had gone to Tech and went on to have the same success he is currently having in the NBA, we'd all be self-professed NBA experts by now.
Steph is a Hokie by proxy in my book. It has gotten to the point where I almost forget he didn't play for us...almost.
jeez, rough crowd. my apologies.
I'm a little disappointed. I mean, really guys? That was it? That's where the line's drawn? Rough crowd indeed. I thought it was a little off-color, but no worse than some stuff I've seen (or posted myself for that matter) on here. I got a chuckle out of it.
Hesitate to post here, but I think the problem with the off-color joke in this case is that it was personal, not just a general bawdy, or even filthy, reference. Not sure that's what did it in, just what bothered me about it.
That's fair. I guess I just can't judge a guy too harshly for that when the de facto slogan of the site is "don't deny my pussy touchdowns." I'm not here for sophistication (cue "Carruthers" references). I'm here for football and entertainment. I won't fault anyone for finding offense, but it just didn't seem like a big deal to me.
I see your point. I don't judge the guy harshly at all, and I personally wasn't offended. Just offered my opinion on what some might not like about the joke. Lord knows, I'm the original fart in church, so far be it from me to judge.
And, TH13, for the record, I am still chuckling about your "wowsers in my trousers" comment from the other day. Yeah, I've heard it before, but, yet, I'm still chuckling. Believe me, I ain't for cleaning up the site. I like the latitude we enjoy to make funny here, and wouldn't want it any other way. If someone crosses the line, peer review steps in. No problem.
Well, there's the de facto slogan that arose out of an autocorrect that turned memetic.
Then there's a discussion of doing actual things to actual people who might just so happen to read this site.
The dad in me tends to disfavor the latter (though not to the point of downvoting).
You really thought that would be an ok joke?
... Yup. Again, a little off-color but I've definitely seen worse get upvoted.
Not of a personal nature, that's my issue, that's a VT alumni, a daughter of a former coach.
I went back to the UVA post-game thread to find a comment I made to a poster who has a Wahoo-grad wife. I told him to, "Pound her like we pounded their QBs tonight," and received 20 legs for it. Another comment flat-out said to bang her brains out and that one was green as well. I get that it's probably in poor taste to make crude jokes about a former coach's daughter, but again, I don't see that as being so much more downvote-worthy as some other stuff on here.
I think this is just gonna go in circles (if it hasn't already), but I guess it's just personal preference on a borderline comment. Glad we've all been civil here.
my gif was more of a haha he went there gif. I even upvoted the guy. looking at it it probably doesn't help its below the "that escalated quickly" gif
That's how I viewed it. Pretty harmless, in the opinion of a 24 year old who has the maturity of an 8th grader.
It looks like his apology got him as many upvotes (including mine) as the original comment got downvotes, so I'd say it all evened out nicely.
I was a lurker then, but I remember your comment. It kinda stood out, for me to have remembered it, probably wouldn't have downvoted it, probably wouldn't have upvoted, but then again, all's fair in love, war, and UVA.
Paige for the WIN! And I remember Julius Hodge, that guy was tight for NCST back in the day. Good for them for calling out this blowhard.
I'll probably regret asking this and I realize that I'm opening a can of worms here, but aside from this tweet, why do all you guys hate Rovell? Just curious. I actually find his stuff on Twitter pretty interesting.
A pretty decent number of his tweets are interesting. The issue with Rovell is that the remaining number are a combination of pointless statistics, trolling (both purposeful and inadvertant) and overall being a corporate shill. This pretty much sums it up:
http://deadspin.com/why-people-hate-darren-rovell-1426636375
For starters, a guy made a joke about Darren on twitter last year, and in typical Rovall douchiness, he investigated who the kid was, where he got his degree (Michigan) and emailed his superiors, in an apparent attempt to get the administration to strip him of his diploma...
http://deadspin.com/these-emails-confirm-that-espns-darren-rovell-is-a-sens-1572043642
Mind you, this was right before he gets suspended from Twitter by ESPN for openly mocking the weight of a Bulls fan during a playoff game last year...
http://deadspin.com/did-espn-suspend-darren-rovell-from-using-twitter-1565932737
And that was only 5 years after he had this to say about the 2009 NYC Marathon winner while still working for CNBC:
Marathon's Headline Win Is Empty
Long story short... fuck Darren Rovell
I wish I could give you more than one leg for this post.
Okay, those were both pretty bad. I see where you're coming from now. The first article didn't even sound realistic and the fact that it did makes Rovell look like that kid in 1st grade whose mom was a teacher who you always walked on eggshells around, scared he would tell on you for stealing candy from someone's lunch box. Oh crap, maybe I should stop talking junk about Darren now before he writes an email to Pamplin about what a meanie I am /s
Rovell is definitely a POS, but I found that tweet about the obese guy to be kind of funny. I remember watching that game...the guy was impossible not to stare at.
The last tweet I saw from this guy was the UK vs Wisconsin number of All-Americans (9 vs 0). Then Wisconsin was beat by Duke, who had 8 All-Americans. I dont have twitter and nobody posted his tweet about that fact so I assume he said nothing after that game.
I have a very small sample size but I have yet to hear anything but sensationalized headlines and beating of dead horses from him
Teel's take, you know, from a real journalist:
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/virginia-tech/dp-spt-teel-column-steph-...
I got kind of tired of beating a dead horse when it came to this story, but dang that last paragraph makes your heart drop a little:
"Sure, Curry could have changed the course of Hokies basketball. Instead, he took Davidson to improbable heights and joined the likes of Larry Bird (Indiana State), David Robinson (Navy), Karl Malone (Louisiana Tech) and Steve Nash (Santa Clara) to rise from mid-major college programs to NBA MVP."
That's a list of names that must be nice to be apart of. Nonetheless, Steph Curry is a great player and even better person and I honestly wish him nothing but the best. If my Wizards weren't still in the playoffs, I'd be rooting like crazy for Golden State to win it all this year. And let's face it, if by the wild chance those two teams meet in the Finals this year, it probably won't be much of a series anyways.
Reading that article is like:
I have to say that Paige Greenberg is pretty awesome.