Ryan! Does anyone know a Ryan? John Ryan 82d Airborne?

[ryanmnelson at verizon.net]

Just to be clear, part of my reasoning for Al never being an all-star is the competition for those spots which includes Oden, Durant, etc..  I have detailed the players Al has to beat out for the slot likely vacated by caron butler next year and those up for it include paul pierce, andre igoudala, potentially kevin durant, michael redd, blah blah blah.

I have never said al is not going to be a good player, but he is no all-star.

rmn



>From: "Ryan, Patrick S Maj RES USAFR 439 MSG" <Patrick.Ryan at westover.af.mil>
>Date: 2007/04/03 Tue AM 09:58:15 CDT
>To: celtics at igtc.com
>Subject: Ryan! Does anyone know a Ryan? John Ryan 82d Airborne?

>This post made me laugh. Gene, you have your eyes on that oft quoted but
>hardly ever seen "big picture" don't you? That's like the definition of
>message board irony. Just to be clear it's Ryan Nelson's contention Al will
>never be an All-Star, Patrick Ryan (that would be me) thinks he'll make a
>couple at least. Too many Ryans of all types and sizes round here.
>
> 
>
>Cutting to the root of the issue I think that's why I'm a much bigger
>football fan then basketball fan (although I'm a heckuva lot better at
>playing basketball then football).  Football, with its eleven men per side,
>is so much more a team game to me (I'm comparing pro level to pro level
>here) then the NBA and I think the results bear out that fact wherein a team
>can have only one or two all-pros and be a champion while in the NBA
>invariably you absolutely must have at least one if not two All-pros on your
>team to even sniff the championship. And given the smaller sample size (15
>men per roster vs 53) while it might seem that each team would have those
>requisite all-pros it just doesn't seem that the talent level is there to
>bear that out.
>
> 
>
>The terms "workmanlike", "lunchpail", "glue guys" - on NBA teams they are
>the smallest of role players, while in the NFL they're often taking 100% of
>the snaps, on the field every minute. It's that aspect - that the hard
>working, not as athletically gifted players make such an impact, that draws
>me just the little bit more to the NFL because in the NBA those guys are
>pretty much marginalized. 
>
> 
>
>When we wrote yesterday about the "storied past" of the franchise - I was
>reminded of this specifically because the legend is that Auerbach always won
>without the "best" players - he made my argument above poppycock.  I don't
>disagree - I think the game in the 40s, 50s and 60s WAS different. Those
>role players were not marginalized and the game itself was taught
>differently from pee-wee league through college and into the pros. I still
>believe if given three years and teaching nothing but pure fundamentals to a
>team of "average" NBA players that such team could challenge for a
>championship, but with guaranteed contracts, power entirely in the player's
>hands, and a "star" atmosphere from Stern's office all the way down to the
>referees such a revolution (going BACK to Auerbach's teachings) would never
>happen.
>
> 
>
>I got off on too many tangents here, sorry about that.  Anyway Gene - I too
>hope that if Al doesn't make an All-star team it's because we have so many
>All-stars that the league has to cut one or two so other teams have a
>representative for the game.
>
> 
>
>----------------------------
>
>Hey, what if, I wondered last night, the Celtics got lucky and drafted Oden
>and he overshadowed big Al and we won championships but Al's numbers were
>shared with the big guy and Al never got to be an all-star and you were
>right and I was wrong, would I be happy?  Yes.  That's a scenario I would
>love.  Cheers, Gene
>
> 
>
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