tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post5774045192913297688..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: Fairly Imbalanced: Without BiasJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-43949370230460230062009-11-14T14:17:54.581-05:002009-11-14T14:17:54.581-05:00Sorry for the delay, but yes, I did finish "T...Sorry for the delay, but yes, I did finish "The Book Of Basketball." I gave it a nearly sparkling review on my blog, but there are tons more negative reviews out there. <br /><br /> http://chicagoexpat.blogspot.com/2009/11/booked-solid.html<br /><br /> I'm standing by the opinion that it was enjoyable--but I can see how someone unfamiliar with Simmons's devotion to Boston sports and/or "everyman writing style" might be infuriated by the book. Playoffs, drafts, day-to-day games...it's so easy to play the "what-if" card. But I really admired his research, and I think it'll stand up as a solid basketball reference guide in the future.James Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08318633423894546202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-88814193463837520102009-11-08T14:14:16.082-05:002009-11-08T14:14:16.082-05:00Jamie: Thanks for the comment. My guess is that Bi...Jamie: Thanks for the comment. My guess is that Bias' death had more of an impact on NBA culture than the game itself.<br /><br />I haven't read Simmons' book, but I've read enough columns and listened to enough podcasts over the years to know that he's convinced that Bias was the second-coming. But who knows.<br /><br />In any sport the draft is such an imperfect exercise, and Simmons never holds himself back when it comes to his Boston-based (um) biases. So, yeah, it's speculative. And it's fun to speculate about sports. But Bias might have turned out to be a bust. Or maybe he would have flashed brilliance only to be brought down to earth ... kind of like another young Boston prospect that Simmons couldn't keep from raving about for a while: Jonathan Papelbon.<br /><br />The point is, all top draft choices are over-hyped coming out of college. Combine that with premature death and who is going to have the heart to argue against Bias' greatness? <br /><br />Curious: Have you made it through the entire book? How is it?Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-63676911071169971112009-11-08T12:44:39.445-05:002009-11-08T12:44:39.445-05:00Not to confuse "Bias the man" with "...Not to confuse "Bias the man" with "Bias the basketball player," but his death did have a stunning effect on the NBA.<br /><br /> In "The Book of Basketball," Bill Simmons writes a stunning look at the idea "what if Bias had lived?" Granted, it's all speculation, but he shares some insights into how good Bias would have been for the entire Celtics team.<br /><br /> The book also shows that cocaine was widespread in the NBA. Not everyone overdosed, but quite a few careers were limited. Sadly, it seems like it took the death of Bias to highlight this fact.James Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08318633423894546202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-80382166585802686712009-11-05T07:16:30.332-05:002009-11-05T07:16:30.332-05:00This was a shortened version of Fraser's 95 mi...This was a shortened version of Fraser's 95 minute doc about Bias that never got picked up for wide release. Could explain why chunks of it felt disjointed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-86444316318540498842009-11-04T07:25:47.857-05:002009-11-04T07:25:47.857-05:00Thanks for the reactions! Keep 'em coming.
TC...Thanks for the reactions! Keep 'em coming.<br /><br />TC: That's exactly how I felt. The doc belabors the points that are immediately understood and then zips through some of the fascinating stuff, moving so quickly that it would have been better off ignoring those details altogether. Speaking as someone who has interviewed people for stories, sometimes if you put a lot of work into researching and interviewing you feel a need to show your work, so to speak. Fraser seems intent to demonstrate his thoroughness and the number of interviews he conducted, but in the process he overlooks that many of his interviewees aren't saying anything especially interesting. (And I can't believe he didn't get one non-teammate to talk about matching up against him.)<br /><br />Brew: <i>I figured that if you try cocaine, you die!</i> That's exactly how I'd reacted to the story all those years ago, and that's how I'd remembered it, so it was surprising to learn that Bias had used cocaine previously. Or had he? Listening to Tribble and other teammates, I think he had. And yet Bias' father still remembers the night after the draft as if his son was with dangerous people in New York, when in reality he was with dangerous people in Maryland. Bias' girlfriend still wants to believe that the night of his overdose was the only time he used. Don't get me wrong, the story is tragic regardless, but it's even more tragic the way we learned it at the time: that Bias had one night where he mixed with the wrong crowd and died because of it.<br /><br />As for Bias' brother, that's a detail I was unaware of, and the most heartbreaking moment of the film for me is when Bias' father accidentally calls his murdered son "Len," and then says, "Oh my God," as if just then he fully realizes that he is burying a child for the second time. Awful.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-36466435198348435002009-11-04T00:12:24.117-05:002009-11-04T00:12:24.117-05:00JB -
I was very eager to watch this and hopeful t...JB -<br /><br />I was very eager to watch this and hopeful that it would provide something deeper than it did. <br />I'm not sure exactly what I was looking for, but it left me a bit disappointed.<br /><br />I think it's safe to assume that with you, like me, Bias' death was one of the defining moments of our early "sports childhood". <br />The only other event that I can recall that was equally tragic was the death of Hank Gathers.<br /><br />And the thing that I remember most about his death was how absolutely terrified I was about the dangers of cocaine. I figured that if you try cocaine, you die!<br /><br />I had no recollection of his brother's death only a few years later. The only thing worse than thinking about what was lost<br />and might have been is the anguish and heartbreak that his parent's have had to live with.Brewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844417292883006266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-61765115009335973452009-11-04T00:07:20.249-05:002009-11-04T00:07:20.249-05:00I really wanted to like this film, but the way Fra...I really wanted to like this film, but the way Frazer jumped from one random topic to the next in the third act was maddening to me. It's like he knows there are certain points he wants to touch on (Drisell being forced out, Tribble's trial, the new drug laws, etc.) but since he's wasted so much time in the first two segments, he doesn't have time to tell anything well here. So instead of cutting a couple topics, he leaves all of them incomplete. Yet as you said, he has time to spare in the second segment while not really sharing much info. Do we really need to hear from EVERY teammate, when not many actually have anything to say?<br /><br />Of all the 30 in 30 docs so far, this was the one I was most interested in before I watched, and most disappointed by afterward. But one has to be impressed with the ongoing resolve of Bias' mother, who amazed me.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02868069915551135931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-12901935558869483222009-11-03T19:49:48.385-05:002009-11-03T19:49:48.385-05:00Oh, I wouldn't call it greatness. And if that&...Oh, I wouldn't call it greatness. And if that's what the doc's suggesting, then it sounds as misleading as you say. It was more like unfulfilled potential. The prospect of Bias being under Bird and McHale's tutelage for a few years was enough to make your mouth water. Unfulfilled potential: the ultimate tragedy.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-29955489596536474632009-11-03T17:25:00.052-05:002009-11-03T17:25:00.052-05:00Craig: I don't disagree. But when you watch Wi...Craig: I don't disagree. But when you watch <i>Without Bias</i> tell me if this film even gets that part of the story right. That's the thing: if <i>Without Bias</i> <i>just</i> focused on his death in basketball terms, or if it had made a more convincing case about his greatness, I wouldn't have complained. These are sports stories, after all. But the first two acts drift by without making much of an impression, with a few exceptions, of course.<br /><br />I'll be curious to see your reaction after you've seen it.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-73558661734070972362009-11-03T16:11:11.345-05:002009-11-03T16:11:11.345-05:00I see your point about the bigger picture. But as ...I see your point about the bigger picture. But as a longtime Celtics fan, I remember the Len Bias tragedy being absolutely cataclysmic for the team. Bird and McHale would have a few good years left but their best were largely behind them. Bias was the future. Without him (or Reggie Lewis, whose sad death occurred a few years later), the Celtics endured a long, painful decline that last through most of the 90s until....well, just recently. A tragic waste of what-might-have-been.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-56230506437551402112009-11-03T10:09:15.966-05:002009-11-03T10:09:15.966-05:00Chase: Though I was disappointed by Without Bias, ...Chase: Though I was disappointed by <i>Without Bias</i>, it's still worth watching, and it does have a few surprises. But for me the interesting parts were too fleeting and the rest was sluggish and unimpressive.<br /><br />Come back after you've seen it. I'll be curious to learn if I was alone in my reaction.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-6902033887584785712009-11-03T09:56:33.268-05:002009-11-03T09:56:33.268-05:00I was pretty young when Bias died, and just gettin...I was pretty young when Bias died, and just getting started playing basketball, but I remember it as a seismic event, even if I didn't grasp it fully at the time. The clips of him stealing the ball and dunking immediately after hitting a jump shot has worn its way into my skull enough over time that I almost think I remember watching that game instead of just the repeated highlight. It's disappointing to hear that the director of this installment went a little shallow in his investigation, but as always, I'll watch this one anyway.Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07882041766583557201noreply@blogger.com