As I read Sports Illustrated's remembrances of sports figures that passed in 2014, I learned that Red Klotz won't be losing any more basketball games. The 93 year-old Klotz was the coach and general manager of the Washington Generals, the Harlem Globetrotters' longtime foils. In his career with the Generals, it's estimated that Klotz won twice and lost more than 14,000 times, despite his claims that the Generals were trying to win each time out.As a player, Klotz was more successful. At the time of his death in July, he was the oldest living NBA Champion, having won a ring as a reserve on the 1948 Baltimore Bullets. At 5'7", he's believed to be the shortest player ever to win an NBA title. He continued to play as the Generals' point guard until the age of 68. This Joe Posnanski piece is a great reminiscence on Klotz's life and career.
Reading of Klotz's death led me to think about what it would be like to play for the Generals, knowing you're almost certainly going to lose before a large crowd, and that you're reasonably likely to be embarrassed at least a little by the Globies.
Which leads me to another idea entirely. On this the first real business day of 2015, we introduce an audience participation recurring feature: What Would (the) Gheorghies Do? In which we offer a choice (or several choices), mostly sports-related, and our reading audience decides in the comments which of the choices are most preferable.
In honor of Red Klotz, the very first WWGhD, a two-parter:
Would you rather play a single D-League game, or suit up for the Washington Generals for a year?
Would you rather have Red Klotz's coaching career, or Rich Kotite's?
Playing for the Generals is definately the better job. that said, I can't help but consider the mindset. If you were to go into the d-league game not knowing it was only for one game, but represented a chance, albeit small, to realize a dream of making the NBA then I think the D league game is a no-brainer. Since I suck at basketball, I take the steady gig as the General who gets the confetti bucket dumped on him.
ReplyDeleteAs for Klotz vs. Kotite, I don't think you can make a salient argument for Kotite. Klotz wins an NBA championship and is part of the Globetrotter tradition that brought a lot of happiness to people in the pre-digital age as well as being ambassadors of basketball all over the world. Kotite plays for some really lousy Giants teams and has a losing record coaching the Eagles and Jets.
How many 68 year old guys are paid to play basketball, let alone five-foot-seven 68 year old guys? Klotz played the sport he loved for an insanely long time and was paid to do so. And he continued to stay involved with the game, for profit, for another 20+ years after he stopped playing. That's a fantastic career.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a serious basketball player I would prefer to play one D-league game. It feels like more of a "real" professional basketball accomplishment than playing for the Generals.
tribe favored by five at drexel this evening, as marcus returns to the scene of last year's dagger. w&m five point road favorites against a struggling and banged up drexel team. the dragons are a mess, their boosters are apathetic, and the fire bruiser sentiment is growing. if the tribe wants to be considered one of the big boys, they win this one easily. i think they do. 'course i was dead wrong about the conference opener, so maybe you should bet the other way.
ReplyDeleteIf a colleague shows up at work and says "I think I have strep throat, my kids have it and I think they gave it to me because I feel horrible" are you allowed to physically throw them out of your office?
ReplyDeleteallowed? morally obligated.
ReplyDeleteYou are allowed to kick them in the nuts.
ReplyDeleteStuck in the Montreal airport due to an ice storm yesterday. The is a small child with her mother's iPhone playing Let It Go and What Does the Fox Say on repeat at high volume and singing along. Am I allowed to punch the mother?
Only if she has strep throat.
ReplyDeleteIsn't playing for the Generals essentially the same thing as playing for the Nicks, only with a paying crowd and no zman throwing the ball at the other team's heads?
ReplyDeletetell me you guys are following this alan dershowitz/prince andrew/billionaire financier underaged sex scandal. holy shit, i've heard that power and money can corrupt, but this shit is craaaazy. and getting crazier.
ReplyDeleteYes rob, read a few articles on that yesterday. I'd say it's good juicy stuff if it didn't involve under age sex slaves.
ReplyDeletespeaking as the starting center for the nicks, i'm definitely all about playing on the novelty team. and losing every game really takes the pressure off.
ReplyDeleteKinetic sand might be the coolest thing anyone in zhome got for zmas.
ReplyDeleteWho wants to join me in Vegas for NBA summer league to watch Marcus solidify his spot on an NBA roster??
ReplyDeletespeaking of that, here's a quote from an nba scout in the daily press game story from last night:
ReplyDelete"Offensively, he's got it," one NBA scout said.
That scout said the question isn't whether Thornton will play in the NBA, only whether he'll stick.
I'm in, Shlara. You're paying, right?
ReplyDeleteI happened to read this piece on the (alleged) new Redskins GM a week or so ago. If you haven't, you should.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12014699/scot-mccloughan-nfl-best-talent-scout-self-employed-living-farm