Sports Poets Society

https://grantland.com/features/the-spiritual-connection-70s-knicks-champs-tim-duncan-crew/ The spiritual connection between the ’70s Knicks and the 2013 Spurs. BY RAFE BARTHOLOMEW ON JUNE 6, 2013 “At times, we approach the ideal of how the game should be played. When one of us moves, the others adjust. We have unselfishness, cooperation, technique. We hit the open man, move without the ball, and help out on defense. Everybody’s moving, taking part in every play . It makes it fun to play basketball.” Can you imagine Tony Parker saying these words? His voice rising at the end of each sentence with a hint of lyrical Franglais ? What about Tim Duncan, sounding nasal and sensible , like your 10th-grade homeroom teacher? Or maybe Gregg Popovich? Well, we know it’s not Pop, whose public speaking style ranges from caustic to monotone to stonewalled silence. And we can rule out Duncan, who’s far too modest to administer such glowing praise upon himself and the Spurs. Likewise, we know it’s n...

https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/shawn-windsor/2020/04/26/detroit-pistons-bad-boys-michael-jordan-bulls-the-last-dance-espn/3028110001/ SHAWN WINDSOR | Detroit Free Press They were beautiful to watch. Though I doubt you’ll see that Sunday night when ESPN's “The Last Dance” details Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ effort to overcome the Bad Boys .  Some narratives are too hard to overcome ; the mythology was set long ago .  But, still, the Detroit Pistons of that era played gorgeous basketball . It’s just easy to forget after three decades of clips highlighting the shoving, fisticuffs and hard fouling, three decades of watching Magic and Bird and Jordan falling to the ground, of watching Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn sneering as they did .  Yes, the Bad Boys were physical . Yes, they knocked players on their asses. Yes, they could be irritating, to opponents as well as opposing fanbases. Yes, several of the Bad Boys embraced their villainous caricature...

https://www.essentiallysports.com/nba-news-the-real-story-of-the-ugly-walk-off-by-bad-boys-piston-on-micheal-jordans-chicago-bulls-in-1991/ Published 04/27/2020, By PAVNI AHUJA Some of the intriguing anecdotes in the NBA remain untold stories of the past. Moreover, there are various versions to it from different players and coaches. One of the prominent incidents for the Detroit Pistons was the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals against their rivals, Chicago Bulls. The ‘walk-off’ game was left as a scar of defeat and jealousy on the Bad Boys Piston for a long time. In an interview, John Salley opened up about the background tale of that day. While he had a hesitant smirk on his face when the question was bombarded on him, he did justice with its details. 15 seconds were remaining for the buzzer when the Pistons walked off the court leaving behind an embarrassing scoreboard reading 112-94 . They were up against Michael Jordan and co. Pistons had lost the Eastern Conference Finals 4-0 and c...