Sports Comments: NBA, Tim Duncan, U.S. Grand Prix, Legacies, Hockey Hall of Fame, Ronaldinho

-The NBA realistically and practically struck a deal within days that the unrealistic and impractical NHL was not able to. The NHL lost a whole season before cooler heads prevailed. For some that comes at too high a price. True both sides played hardball but the owners were right this time around and the players association shot themselves in the foot. As a result, they will get a less favourable deal. Lessons, lessons. Learned lessons? What's that?

-Tim Duncan was named MVP following San Antonio's game 7 victory over the Detroit Pistons in the NBA finals. Duncan is one of those rare all-round great basketball players who faces each game with class and quiet reserve. Unfortunately, this is not good enough for some fans and the media who want all flash all the time. The bad boy element of the NBA is what attracts the lowest common denominator. It seems the more guns'n tatooes one has the more over-rated they are likely to be. It was interesting to listen to experts on ESPN and other sports shows basically set-up Duncan for a fall if the Spurs would have lost. That he was soft, that he won one championship without David Robinson and so on. He's fine for now. Had he lost we would have seen a great injustice hurled upon one of the all-time great athletes.

-As days have gone by more and more information and revelation comes forth that shows how unprofessional and bias journalists were in insidiously somehow attempting to blame Ferrari at the U.S. Grand Prix. It was a sad spectacle indeed but keep the blame squarely where it belongs - with Michelin.

The teams who refused to take a penalty subsequently came up with a ridiculous 'solution' that amounted to a farce while Max Mosely who refused to make a decision. Ferrari, in the end, made the only decision they could make that was reasonable to their team, fans and sponsors. It was not a hollow victory as they broke no rules. It was not up to Ferrari to make such important decisions. After all it is a competition and had the tables been turned around there would have been no debate about it. The other teams would have insisted that Jordan, Minardi and Ferrari sat down. As far as I am concerned, Ferrari had every right to celebrate at the end. For the anti-Ferrari element, consider F1 without Ferrari. The fiasco showcased two things: the lack of accountability in today's world and the emergence of the egalitarian sports fan that insists on clipping any form of dominance.

-I never understood why in debating the greatest athletes in team sports having won a championship was a determining or major criteria. Surely, winning a title takes a total team effort and some of the great athletes, like Marcel Dionne, Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, Dan Marino and Charles Barkley (to name a few), did not always play on great teams. This should take away from their greatness. It should come into the equation but it should not be a final determining factor. Too many athletes and their legacy are shafted as a result.

-The Hockey Hall of Fame is a joke by the way. It's filled with players who never dominated.

-Could someone buy Brazilian and Barcelona midfielder Ronaldhino some braces? He could hurt someone with those things. While we're at it, can someone purchase dentures and some Freedent for striker Carlos Teves of Argentina?

-World Cup 2006 will have the usual suspects challenging - Brazil, Argentina and possibly Germany. Though some questions remain for Brazil. What of the other great power Italy? Many people lament the state of Italian soccer but this may be imprecise. No nation, besides Brazil, on earth produces as many great players position for position. What Italy lacks is grit and leadership. Their track record is impressive in the 1990s. Consider: 3rd place World Cup '90, finalists in '94 and quarter-finalists in '98 - in each case losing in shoot-out, In fact, they rarely lose outright. At Euro 2000, it took a phantom 4 minutes of added time for them to lose and at Euro 2004 they bowed out without losing a game. Italy is fine, they just some luck and a better attitude among some of their players. Maybe they should look at the '82 club that won. That team was filled with leaders and character.

-I never understood how so-called sports fans or experts on T.V. or the radio can dismiss soccer as being a great sport. In fact, some of them make fun of the sport. Ridiculous. If you are true sports fan you appreciate all sports on some level even the ones you don't get - like synchronized swimming.