NBA has a Drake problem
Some musings after a very busy and interesting week in sports:
The NBA has a problem.
Well, another problem.
The NBA Finals has exposed the farce that is courtside seating. It has also exposed some of those who sit in those seats as at best foolish, at worst belligerent.
Let's start with Drake. The Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, producer, entrepreneur and, apparently, parading mascot for the Toronto Raptors has enjoyed unparalleled freedom from his front-row seat.
Which he never seems to sit in.
The only person who seems to travel more than Drake on a basketball court is Steph Curry.
Drake has fist pumped, taunted, given shoulder rubs and generally been a troll every minute of every game in Toronto as the Raptors play the Golden State Warriors in the finals.
Amusing at first, his act is getting old and obnoxious.
The NBA, though, loves famous people sitting at courtside.
It loves Jack Nicholson brooding for the Lakers. It loves Spike Lee trolling for the Knicks. It loves Billy Crystal at Clippers' games. It loves Jay-Z and Beyonce's soap opera while watching the Warriors front and center.
Even Emilia Clarke, better known as Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons was courtside for a game in Houston.
(The Rockets lost and were eliminated the night she was in attendance — yet another death at the hands of The Mad Queen.)
There comes a point, however, when the there must be a clear line between the people watching and the people playing.
That line has been dangerously blurred of late.
The best example of this is the $500,000 shove.
Mark Stevens, an investor for the Golden State Warriors shoved and yelled nasty things at Raptors' Kyle Lowry when the guard crashed into the front row chasing the basketball.
Lowry was fined and banned for year.
More needs to be done, though. There's enough antics on the court these days in the NBA. We don't need the circus to extend to the crowd.
It's going to be interesting watching the Cleveland Browns implode this fall.
With that collection of head cases, the Browns appear destined for a catastrophic failure.
I'm not much of a hockey fan, but I am wholeheartedly rooting for the St. Louis Blues.
It's not because I necessarily like the team — I couldn't honestly name a player on their roster if you threatened to make me watch curling if I couldn't.
It's because I love the story it would be.
The Blues had the worst record in the NHL in January and now they are one win way from hoisting the Stanley Cup.
That would be the equivalent of a 1-7 team in the NFL rallying to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.
Or a 30-60 team at the All-Star break in baseball claiming a world title in October.
Crazy stuff.
But that's why sports are so riveting.
