Miscellaneous Thoughts

Some more Sports Guy obsessing...

Yesterday morning I checked The Jimmy Kimmel Live website and I noticed that Bill Simmons is still listed on the front page. This means that there is no way that Simmons was fired from the show and that the parting had to be amicable (if Simmons was fired - the Kimmel show could be in trouble for keeping him on the website and if Simmons left on bad terms - why would Kimmel still have him on the web site?)... The NBA needs to protect its star players. An Anthony Peeler shouldn't be allowed to goad a Kevin Garnett into a suspension. My suggestion is for the regular season is to make the suspension for the guy who is the aggressor equal to the number of points per game (divided by 2), assists per game and rebounds per game for the guy he swung at minus his own points per game (divided by 2), assists per game and rebounds per game. For example Garnett (12+5+14) - Peeler (3+2+2) would equal a 24 game suspension. Harsh - yes - but nobody is paying $75 per ticket to watch Peeler take swings at the MVP (and who wants to see Garnett turn into the next Rudy T in a blink of an eye)... So why did Bill Simmons leave? Normally people leave jobs either to get away from a bad situation or to go to a better situation. Simmons seems to like Kimmel personally but it must be noted that Kimmel is still getting worse ratings and drawing fewer viewers than either Craig Kilborn's or Carson Daly's show. Man that sucks... For the playoffs - I think the NBA should use a rule of thumb for suspending guys who take swings at other players of Player A's salary (the guy who got hit) in millions minus Player B's salary in millions divided by two. For example Garnett makes $19 million minus say $3 million for Peeler divided by two would equal a 8 game suspension for Peeler... So what would make it a better situation at ESPN worth leaving Jimmy Kimmel's show for Simmons? Maybe the answer is as obvious as Jay Marriotti's Liza Minelli eyebrows. Could Simmons be the next host of Around the Horn?.. If the players in an altercation are equal - say Tim Duncan takes a swing at Garnett - then the league uses its best judgment. Yes - it promotes a star system but what's wrong with that?...