Facts Are Bourgeois

by Tom Ziller on Jan 25, 2009 7:51 AM PST in Commentary

Marty McNeal in Saturday's column, which deals with everything wrong with the Kings:

Then I tell Petrie to get off his penchant for players without toughness. Sure, it's nice and necessary to have shooters, but I don't want any players who have to think about sacrificing their body for a loose ball. I want players who do it instinctively. The Kings have to get tough. Period.

And I'd hire a coach who tells Kevin Martin that his defensive approach to the game is one of the worst I've ever seen. It's not in the best interest of a coach to alienate his leading scorer. However, Martin doesn't guard, he doesn't rebound defensively and, like the rest of the Kings, he doesn't foul. The last time I checked, they were last in the league in fouls. Man, I miss Brian Grant, Michael "The Animal" Smith, Sarunas Marciulionis, Bonzi Wells and even Anthony "Spud" Webb.

If you go by raw statistics, the Kings are 2nd in the league in personal fouls (behind Milwaukee). More fouls than Boston, Utah, Cleveland, New Orleans, Detroit, San Antonio. They foul a ton.

Get away from the raw statistics: adjust for pace by looking at opponent free throws/field goal attempts. The Kings are 4th.

Fouling isn't necessarily a good thing, and it damn sure isn't a measure of toughness. The SPURS are last in the league in fouls. Are the Spurs not tough? "Man, I miss Sean Elliott, George Gervin, David "The Admiral Robinson, Avery Johnson and even Bruce "The Rash" Bowen (R.I.P.).

It's been this way all season. The last time Marty Mac checked was Never o'clock, or maybe half-past-bullshit. Perceptions are all you need though, right? This team sucks, and Kevin Martin is skinny, and Geoff Petrie likes shooters. So the team must be last in the league in fouls! And fouls, you know, that's like hitting someone ... sometimes with your fists! So that must mean toughness. Tough dudes foul a lot. And I don't think the Kings are tough, therefore they must never foul. BOOM! I AM FROM NEW YORK! My opinions are more valid and based in reality than facts!

Come on. This is not that f'n hard.

If McNeal can get such a basic fact so wildly wrong (and his editors can't catch it), how are we supposed to believe any of dude's opinions?

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Harsh

Come on Ziller, MartyMac throws the occasional “Dawg” in there – shouldn’t that be enough to overcome the glaring factual errors?

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

by otis29 on Jan 25, 2009 8:15 AM PST reply actions

I think you title says it all

I’m not sure you can say much more, than what you already said. I’d say it’s embarrassing, but Marty left that pedestal behind years ago.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

I am the stone that builder refused..I am the visual...The inspiration..That made lady sing the blues....I'm the spark that makes your idea bright.....The same spark that lights the dark....So that you can know your left from your right...I am the ballot in your box....The bullet in your gun...The inner glow that lets you know...To call your brother son....The story that just begun...The promise of what's to come...And I'm 'a remain a soldier till the war is won....

by pookeyguru on Jan 25, 2009 8:17 AM PST reply actions

A response from Marty Mac

Dear TS (Ed. note – Marty should have addressed this letter to “TZ,” not "TS"),

Your article reminds me of the time that C-Dub and me (I call Chris Webber C-Dub – that’s how we roll), met at his Center Court Restaurant and feasted on Jalapeno Poppers and Cosmopolitans. Funny story about that – they didn’t have Jalapeno Poppers on the menu, but I went into the back and taught the chef how to make them. Anyhoo, we’re sitting there and who should walk in but Tyra Banks and Kirstie Alley. Well, Tyra sits herself down next to C-Dub (I call him C-Dub – that’s how we roll), and that leaves me with Kirstie. Now I know that she’s put on a few (dozen) pounds since her “Facts of Life Days” (Ed. note – Alley starred in “Cheers”, not “Facts Of Life”), but I’ve always been a bit of a chubby chaser so I sidle up right next to her and I say, “Hey baby, you’d be the perfect answer to the Kings’ needs as it substains (Ed. note – Marty should have used the word "pertains,” not "substains") to their problems in the middle. In the meantime, you and me should hook up, baby doll." And at about that time, “Can’t Get Enough” starts playing over the PA system in the restaurant! Well, we all see that as a sign, so C-Dub (I call him C-Dub – that’s how we roll) calls Grant Napear to come and pick us all up and drive us to the airport, where we charter a private jet for the four of us (Napear was pissed that he wasn’t invited to go with us) to Cancun, where we subsisted off of shrimp and margaritas for three days while doing nasty things to each other. True story.

What was the question?

Thank you for reading my article. I always enjoy hearing from my fans.

Peace in (Ed. note – I think Marty meant “Peace out”),

Marty MacNeal

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Jan 25, 2009 8:46 AM PST reply actions 8 recs

Claps in approval

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

by pookeyguru on Jan 25, 2009 8:59 AM PST up reply actions

True story

I was actually there for much of that trip. Or I once stood next to McNeal at a Natomas Applebee’s urinal. Either way, good time…

by rbiegler on Jan 25, 2009 9:03 AM PST up reply actions

Did he tap his feet?

Or did he just have a wide stance?

Wait....Why is everybody clapping? Everyone around me is clapping.... I guess I should be clapping too... GO LAKERS!!! I hate living in So Cal

by 27freethrows on Feb 3, 2009 11:19 PM PST up reply actions

Do we have proof that Marty Mac and Randy Jackson are different people?

Has anyone seen them in the same room?

by nbrans on Jan 25, 2009 9:50 AM PST reply actions

Well, Im just thankful

we have Amick at the bee and you over here, TZ. Melody and Scoop have their moments as well but Mcneal and Voisen have no redemption, theyre just awful, always have been.

by passionforPERPS on Jan 25, 2009 10:01 AM PST reply actions

Voisin

by passionforPERPS on Jan 25, 2009 10:02 AM PST up reply actions

I was gonna say

What did Melody do? I think she’s a fabulous beat writer.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

by pookeyguru on Jan 25, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions

She's so brief and rarely offers analysis,

its just, “heres video of Kmart, Brad said this, and Kenny Natt said this.” She’s had a handful of press releases where she just prints what Kings give her and offers no words of her own. And i dont know who dictates the subject of her articles (her or her bosses) but it seems she is always the one covering things like new unis. All that said, her work is still very readable and is pleasure when compared to some of her peers’. I actually find it surprising that the infamously long winded pookeyguru would go so far as use the word “fabulous” to describe Melody but to each their own i suppose.
And The Boondocks and Unspoken Heard both f-in rock.

by passionforPERPS on Jan 25, 2009 10:08 PM PST up reply actions

I'll take your word for it on Unspoken Heard--But it sounds like a group worth listening to

I disagree about Melody for this reason: She’s assigned to that cookie cutter stuff. The hard hitting stuff is all about Amick, and as such, she’s doing a thankless job. That’s the biggest reason i disagree with you.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

by pookeyguru on Jan 26, 2009 7:04 AM PST up reply actions

Agreed

Someone has to report the news, and she has delivered news items in a concise and accurate form.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Jan 26, 2009 7:49 AM PST up reply actions

I think

I often dont take into account that Sac Bee is a printed newspaper not just a website so my grievances are probably misguided, Id like to see what shes got on lengthier assignments.

by passionforPERPS on Feb 2, 2009 12:02 AM PST up reply actions

Three opposing thoughts in the same head

1. Marty pulled an awful dumbshit move for getting a basic basketball fact wrong after covering the team “for many of the past 19 years.”
2. He’s completely right about Petrie’s penchant for soft, “versatile” jump shooters at every position, leading to the absolutely terrible defensive team we have now.
3. Artest was traded because he’s a nut and a distraction, not because of his basketball performance. It was the right decision then and it’s the right decision now.

Shut up and Coach

by Carl on Jan 25, 2009 11:30 AM PST reply actions

A sidebar

When I first got to Sacramento in 2001, I thought the Bee had a pretty decent group of writers in the Sports department, with McNeal being (in my opinion) the least capable of the group. This was unfortunate, given that he was the lead guy for the Kings. Oh, well.

But when I found out that in addition to his duties covering the Kings, he was also penning C-Dub’s (he calls him C-Dub – that’s how he rolls) biography? Well, isn’t that a conflict of interest? It’s not up there with Dick Cheney making energy or war policy while owning a pile of Halliburton stock, but it’s important, and The Bee should have insisted he give up one or the other.

Why wouldn’t McNeal go out of his way to glorify C-Dubb (he calls him…oh, to hell with this) when making the guy into a Hall of Famer helps McNeal’s own bank account?

I miss the hell out of Kreidler, god dammit.

Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen.

by andy sims on Jan 25, 2009 12:19 PM PST reply actions

Amen on Kreidler

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

by pookeyguru on Jan 25, 2009 12:23 PM PST up reply actions

Thirded

and as for Marty’s article? That’s sad. Well done TS, peace in.

Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott

by Kfan in Korea on Jan 25, 2009 1:24 PM PST up reply actions