Now we are talking about Charles Barkley the basketball analyst, which I think he does a great job as and even one of the best NBA analysts in the business right now. And we are also seeing Charles Barkley the political and social commentator. We already saw Charles Barkley the great basketball player and again I see him as one of the top 5-10 players of all-time in the history of the NBA. But now at fifty-years old, but he’s been what he is now since he’s left the NBA as a player. He is now a professional commentator on things more than just basketball and the NBA.
If Charles Barkley doesn’t have a column or blog, I wish he would start one. Which is what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has already one with Time. Because I don’t agree with him on everything, but he makes a good intelligent case about everything that he says and believes. Which is all you ask from a commentator in life. You want them to make a good interesting case for why they believe about what they are talking about. You can’t expect to agree with everything that they say. Just for them to make a good interesting case for why they believe what they believe about what they are talking about.
The 1980s National Football League was an era of cookie-cutter stadiums, concrete hard Astroturf fields, dome stadiums especially for teams who played in cold weather cities, like Minneapolis. And it was basically the birth of the passing age in the NFL. The illegal contact rule and the new blocking rules of 1978 and new offensive-minded head coaches like Bill Walsh, Tom Flores, Joe Gibbs, Dan Reeves, Don Coryell, Joe Walton, Sam Wyche really opened up offensive football and the league has only continued to move in that direction ever since.
It was an era where the dominate Steel Curtain Pittsburgh Steelers were no more and where the Los Angeles Raiders who probably should’ve taken over for the Steelers as the new dominant team in the NFL, didn’t quite live up to that. Even though all in all they had a pretty good decade winning two Super Bowls, but 1986 or so were no longer a championship contender in the NFL. And became a franchise just trying to make the AFC Playoffs every year. And what happened was the San Francisco 49ers took that mantle instead from the Steelers. And became great team on offense and defense throughout the decade.
But what is great about football, it is not what I call arenaball, what is called arena football. As much as Roger Goddell might want to change that and turn the NFL into a total offensive league, there is still two sides of the game, offense and defense. And there were still great defensive teams and players in the 1980s. Like with Chicago Bears 46 defense led by Buddy Ryan, who took that to Philadelphia as the Eagles new head coach. And in New York with their elephant two-deep defense that the Giants played led by head coach Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
The 1980s was an era for the NFL where the great teams of the 1970s like the Steelers, Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings took a step back and needed to regroup and come back in the 1990s as championship contenders again. And where new teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Redskins, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns stepped up and either became champions or at least championship contenders. And a decade where the NFL just became more popular and more balanced. Where offenses and defenses were now treated equally under the rules.
I haven’t actually been to Europe, which might not be a bad thing, because they might not want me there. So all I can really go on is what I’ve heard about it and what I’ve seen about Europe from movies. But to me anyway it look like a semi-country, somewhere between a country and region. Not completely one or the other. And a country that doesn’t seem to like Americans, but loves coming to America and emigrating here. Not that different from the Far-Right in America that claims to love America, but doesn’t like Americans.
As far as the movie Big, gee that is a believable realistic movie. A little boy, I believe twelve-years old (going off memory here) who wakes up as a thirty something year old man and an executive a large New York corporation. But hey this is Hollywood where Kojak always gets his man. Where Perry Mason never loses a case or represents the guilty. Where a thirteen-year old can own and operate a Major League Baseball franchise and I could go on, but I’ll spare you the rest. So what the hell? But not exactly one of my favorite movies.
As far as golf, not my game and I would probably have better luck trying to make pizza with just peanut butter and jelly, than becoming a competent golfer. Not saying I’m not athletic enough to play golf, wait we’re talking about golf, no athletic ability needed. Unless you include walking and standing. So maybe I could learn to play if I didn’t fall asleep during the lessons. The only thing I think that would be more boring than playing golf, would be to watch it.
As far as surfing, that looks interesting to me, but I have a couple of problems. I hate drowning and love living. So maybe I would do what Dave Letterman did and try surfing in a pool. Perhaps a pool that didn’t have any water in it though. Right, I mean why take the risk. Tom Hanks, I always thought of him as a comedian playing an actor, or vice-versa, I think you get the idea. A natural comedian who is both a great actor and comedian.
Pat Summerall with another classic NFC intro for CBS Sports. But even with Jim McMahon, who I’m not sure if he even finished this game, because the Redskins defense which was really good in 87 and if anything better than the Chicago Bears, hit him and the Bears very hard on that cold frigid Astroturf Solider Field. Summerall was right that the Bears were definitely different offensively in with him healthy and in the lineup. Because it meant the Bears had a passing game, or at least a QB at could consistently throw the ball.
The problem that the Bears had in this game, is that they were playing one of maybe three teams in the NFL that had the personal and intelligence to not only play against their 46 defense, but the manpower to do it. With an accurate QB who could throw deep or short in Doug Williams, an offensive line that could at least shut down the Bears defensive line and the receivers that could get open and beat man-to-man coverage. The Redskins were a passing team first in 1987, unlike what they were from 1981-86. Because their great tailback George Rogers was hurt most of the season.
So what the Redskins did in this game was to spread out the Bears 46 and use all of their receivers. Their wideouts Art Monk, Gary Clark and Rickey Sanders, their tight end Clint Didier and halfback Kelvin Bryant in the passing game. Or go max protection and look deep to Sanders, Monk or Clark and the come back with the quick running game with either Kelvin Bryant, George Rogers and Timmy Smith. With the Bears on offense not being able to do much against the Redskins defense most of the game.
Charles Barkley can’t be completely written about in just a few posts. The man is now fifty-years old and you spend weeks writing articles and spend years writing books and producing films and doing interviews about the man and still not cover everything. And all of this could be said when the man finished his playing career fifteen years ago. There’s just so much about him and not just his playing career where he might be one of the top ten players of in NBA history. Certainly one of the top ten forwards and perhaps the greatest player who has ever played power forward in the NBA.
But is doesn’t end there with Chuck just as a basketball player. Here’s a man who stands 6’4-6’5 who on the street and any other profession would be a very tall man. If he played point guard in basketball he would be a tall basketball player. If he played shooting guard he would’ve had the right height. Chuck was short for a small forward, let alone power forward and he is the greatest height for height if not the greatest rebounder of all-time. A man who is 6’4 going up against guys who are 6’8-6’10 every night and yet no power forward in the NBA could box the man out. At least not on a regular basis.
And this is just about part of Chuck’s career as a basketball player. I think he is the greatest player to ever play power forward. Not the greatest power forward, I would rather take Karl Malone and Tim Duncan over him. But no other full-time power forward has had the skills and great at so many different aspects of basketball than Charles Barkley who has played power forward. And that includes Larry Bird who played perhaps played as much power forward as the small forward position in the NBA.
But this again is just part of one of Charles Barkley’s career as a basketball player and an aspect of his life. Other posts should and have been written about different aspects of his career. Like why the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t win more with him, when they should’ve remained an NBA Finals contender for the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s. But they weren’t run very well post Julius Erving and Bill Cunningham and John Nash. And you can go into Chuck as the NBA analyst, the cultural analyst and the comedian. But those are for future posts.
What I remember about the 1991 Redskins as a fifteen and sixteen year old, is how dominant they were. They didn’t win games, but they simply beat teams on both sides of the ball. Probably the most physical defense that they’ve ever had. Which is saying something, because they were always big and strong on defense under Joe Gibbs in the 1980s. But if you watch the 1991 Redskins, you see them simply hammering the opposition on defense game after game. The Lions, Falcons and Eagles games come to mind very quickly.
What I remember about the 91 Redskins is all of those blowouts that they won. They scored 485 points and only gave up 224, which meant they more than double points that they gave up. You do that by winning a lot of blowouts. They had probably the best running game in the league that year with the best offensive line. And then add quarterback Mark Rypien who was pretty good and accurate when he had a running game and pass protection and throw in The Posse as his receivers. Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, someone was always open for Ryp to throw the ball to.
Not saying that the 91 Redskins are the best Redskins team ever, but they were the most dominant and perhaps the most complete. Really no weakness’ on either side of the ball. But they played a fairly weak schedule, including the Falcons twice, the Lions twice. And then the AFC Central where the only winning team in that division was the Houston Oilers. I rather have Joe Theisman as my QB and John Riggins running the ball, with Dave Butz and Darryl Grant in the middle of my defense. With Dexter Manley as one defensive ends to go with Charles Mann. But the 91 Redskins are about as dominant a Super Bowl champion that has ever played.
This really looks like a mismatch on paper with the San Francisco 49ers finishing 2-14 in 1978 and the Los Angeles Rams finishing 12-4 and running away again with the NFC East title as they made a habit of doing in the 1970s. And if it wasn’t for the great 49ers-Rams rivalry, at least when the Rams were in Southern California, I wouldn’t of bothered to of post this. But this was a great rivalry in the 1950s, 1960s to a certain extent, the 1970s and the 1980s. With a lot of great games with the teams not liking each other.
The Rams were sort of in transition in 1978, with head coach Chuck Knox moving on to Buffalo to coach the Bills and this being the last season for the 49ers before Bill Walsh completely took over the football operations there in 1979. He inherited a bad football team with a few good young players. Like offensive lineman Keith Farnhorse, Randy Cross, wide receiver Freddie Solomon and a few others. But the 1978 49ers season is why they went to Bill Walsh in 1979.
As far as the 1988 vice presidential debate between Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle, people who believe Dan Quayle won that debate and would find him to be an acceptable Vice President and more important President of the United States as a result, are the same people who fail in school and have to repeat grades and courses. People who don’t do their homework. The same people who voted for George W. Bush as for President twice and now think he was a bad President. “Damn! If I only did my homework!”
Not saying Dan Quayle is a dumb man. I don’t think he was a dumb U.S. Representative or Senator in Congress or a dumb Vice President even. From what I heard he was a solid Vice President for President George H.W. Bush and President Bush kept him busy, but behind the scenes so he couldn’t make any big public mistakes, like the potato incident in 1991 or 92. But not being dumb is not a qualification for being Vice President or President of the Untied States. That is the bare-minimum to serving in those roles.
I think Dan Quayle had he stayed in the U.S. Senate and continued to study and do his homework, would’ve turned out to be a fine Senator and member of Congress. There are plenty of people who graduate college and never become famous. And why is that, because even though they are fairly intelligent, there’s nothing really impressive about them, at least upstairs. And they end up selling insurance, driving trucks, perhaps working at a small law firm. Chasing accidents and looking to score money from bogus accident cases.
As far as David Letterman not doing Diane Sawyer on 60 Minutes, wait that didn’t some out right. Actually it came out perfectly and I’ll let the readers figure out what I mean by this. But as far Dave not being interviewed by Diane, to clean this up a little bit, Diane was probably too distracting for him. To cute and sweet and he would’ve ended up staring at her face in some trance as a result.
Another classic Pat Summerall NFL intro and another classic Pat Summerall Redskins-Giants intro and he and John Madden were a big part of the great Redskins-Giants rivalry. Because they did so many games between these two great franchises. I just the wish especially as a lifelong Redskins fan that he had a better game to call and we would’ve really of heard how great an announcer that he was. And how great an analyst that John Madden was. But the Giants got on top early on the Redskins early in the first quarter and never looked back.
The Redskins never established their great power running and outside running games in this game. The Giants essentially stacked the line of scrimmage against them early on. And then with the big lead, went into the trademark elephant two-deep zone defense so Redskins quarterback Jay Schroeder couldn’t beat them deep in the air with those great Redskins speed receivers like Art Monk and Gary Clark. Which left the Redskins really just to short and medium-range passes when Schroeder could hit them.
I’m stuck between Karl Malone and Tim Duncan as far as who is the best power forward of all-time. I think Duncan is the better all around player than The Mailman, but that is a little different than who is the better power forward. Players are exactly that and positions are that as well and besides Duncan is really a center/power forward or vice-versa, he’s played a lot of both positions throughout his career. But The Mailman is certainly the best power forward of the 1990s and perhaps the 1980s as well.
When you think of the prototypical power forward, the classic power forward, the total package as a power forward and then some, Karl Malone is exactly that. When you are talking about a man who was 6’9 255-260 pounds, with the quickness and shooting ability of a power forward and the physical strength of a center. He would’ve dominated at either position, but not being much of a shot blocker, better suited at playing the big forward, than playing center, at least playing center full-time. He was The Mailman because he delivered basically all the time for the, I still feel strange saying this, but the Utah Jazz.
Malone put the Jazz on his back and carried that team his entire career. He was the only great and big scorer on his team almost his entire career. The only great rebounder and perhaps even good rebounder on his team throughout his career and the only great big man for the Salt Lake Jazz as I prefer to call them that the Jazz have ever had. And yet they were a title contender throughout the 1990s. And John Stocton was a big part of that as far as quarterbacking the Jazz being the great point guard that he was. But if Karl has a bad night offensively and they are playing a good team, the Jazz probably lose.
To go back to my point about the prototypical power forward, The Mailman was exactly that. He and Elvin Hayes might be the top two pure power forwards of all-time. Charles Barkley was more of a hybrid forward, someone with great skills at both the power forward and small forward. And I believe a better all around player than Karl and perhaps the best height for height rebounder of all-time at around 6’5. But Karl was exactly what you want from your power forward and then some. Tall, big, strong, quick, great inside scorer, great rebounder and an excellent defender and passer in the post.
Karl Malone was called The Mailman, because he was exactly that. He delivered for the Jazz time and time again and took them as far as he could almost by himself in the 1980s and 1990s. And perhaps just a few plays away from winning at least one NBA Finals in the late 1990s against the Chicago Bulls. Had the Jazz had a great swingman, small forward or shooting guard or good if not all-star caliber center to go with Malone and Stocton, maybe they would’ve won two NBA Finals in the late 1990s, instead of none. But they got very far with The Mailman delivering as much as he could.
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