those that know me...

People I've just met would probably never figure me for the sports type; even those that know me are a bit surprised to know my passion for sports. I'm a baseball fan first and foremost, with the Phillies being my team of favor. After the World Fucking Champion Phillies, my allegiances lay with Michigan Football, the NBA in general until the Sixers even have the slightest amount of promise, and Eagles football. Of all the sports, I'm probably most interested in the characters of the NBA. For some reason, ballers seem to have more personality.

Which brings me to this:



FreeDarko, one of my favorite blogs recently put up this post about basketball as jazz, and I'm a little sad they missed the notion of coach as composer - Because Phil Jackson certainly has the same kind of laid-back brilliance in using tone colors (playing syles) as Miles Davis. Jackson, a former player, didn't have Miles' chops when he was on the court, but Miles own technical proficiency always took a backseat to his willingness to adapt to the boldest and best players of his day. Miles Davis made legendary records with John Coltrane, Phil won titles with Michael Jordan. Miles won with Herbie Hancock, Phil did it with Kobe Bryant. Ok, so maybe that's straining it a bit, but both guys gave their teams/groups a solid base to work with, never got complacent, and allowed freakishly talented pros enough freedom to keep their groups one step ahead of everyone else.