With Stephon Marbury playing his former employers this week, who are excelling in his absence, there’s been a lot of talk about the possibility of him ever playing for a winning team. Most seem to think it isn’t possible.

And a lot of the talk is justified. The time he’s spent in Jersey and Phoenix hasn’t exactly been a clinic in a team-first mentality. He’s been a shoot-first player, there’s no doubt about that. And you look at the fact that both teams have had a lot more success as soon as he leaves, and it’s easy to label him a loser. But I’m not sure I buy it.

The Jersey teams he played for were awful. Just terrible. I don’t care was playing point for those teams, be it Stephon Marbury, Magic Johnson, or Moose from Arch Rivals, those teams weren’t going anywhere. Yes, they got better when Marbury left, but… adding Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson didn’t hurt the Nets turnaround, either. They gave Marbury Keith Van Horn and told him to win games. Good luck with that.

And it’s a similar deal with Phoenix. They added Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire made huge improvements, Shawn Marion’s gotten better, and don’t underestimate the contributions of guys like Joe Johnson and Q Richardson. And, of course, Mike D’Antoni. Yeah, teams have gotten better when Starbury left… but not because Starbury left.

As much as anyone, I believe a point guard should be there to distribute, to put other guys in good positions to score, and facilitate an offense. I don’t believe that Stephon Marbury can’t do that. He’s one of the league’s leaders in assists. When there’s a pass to be made, he’ll make it. But how many times in New Jersey, Phoenix, or New York has someone else been a better scoring option than Marbury?

This is not like Steve Francis refusing or being unable to get that ball into the post. It’s a case of “What’s the best option for the team?” Stephon Marbury shooting himself, or Stephon Marbury trying to set up Kurt Thomas or Tim Thomas? Shooting-first and passing second isn’t a good mentality for a point guard, but it’s not always born out of an ability to pass, but rather, a poorly constructed team. Does anyone think Steve Nash would be getting to the NBA Finals if he was the point guard of the Knicks this year?

I’ll take Stephon’s 8.5 assists per game. I’ll take his almost 3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio. And oh yeah, his 20 points per game.

A state senator in Oklahoma wants chickens to wear boxing gloves so they can stage non-lethal cockfights. That was a difficult sentence to type. With every keystroke, my belief in the goodness and rationality of my fellow human beings waned. I need a nap.

State Senator Frank Shurden, who is described in this article as “a longtime defender of cockfighting,” says that… Y’know what, fuck it. I’m not finishing this sentence. The fact that there is an elected official in the United States who is “a longtime defender of cockfighting” makes me want to tear my own heart out of my chest and leave this cruel world.

HE WANTS FUCKING CHICKENS TO WEAR BOXING GLOVES. THE MAN WANTS CHICKENS TO WEAR BOXING GLOVES SO HE CAN WATCH THEM FIGHT.

I can’t say anymore. Let’s just quote the man.

“Who’s going to object to chickens fighting like humans do? Everybody wins.”

“To me it answers everything. It saves the industry, takes blood sport out and generates revenue for Oklahoma.”

“Let the roosters do what they love to do without getting injured.”

Wow.

And I’m not happy about it. I’m been a longtime fan of the Cardinals uniforms. Very simple… maroon and white, with a sharp-looking bird. Clean, crisp, well-executed. And they’re going to change it.

The chance isn’t as drastic as it could’ve been. It’s just kinda like they took their old cardinal, put him on steroids, and caught him for a photo op right before he went into a ‘roid rage.

“The outline is in black,” Michael Bidwill said. “We’ve made the beak much more predatory and much more aggressive. The face is much more streamlined. It’s faster looking. The eye has been described as mean, we’ll say tough. We’ve taken tail feathers and given them speed, as well.”

Sometimes, a team identity change can be good. If a team’s been losing forever, they need to change the entire vibe, and there’s not a ton of history and tradition behind the logo, then sure. I can see it. If I took over the Bengals tomorrow, I’d change everything… the entire color scheme, logo, uniforms… all of it. That team needs to cut ties with the past.

But owners who think their logo is going to be more intimidating, like this Bidwill chap… I don’t understand that. Teams are not intimidated by scarier logos. A “predatory beak” is not going to cause the Seattle Seahawks defense to cower in fear. They do enough of that on their own.

Logos and uniforms don’t intimidate. The Boston Celtics have won 16 world championships with a pudgy, drunk, pipe-smoking Irishman as their logo. Logos and uniforms do not intimidate. Championship banners do.

I don’t have much to say about it, but as you might imagine… Dr. Z. sharing his personal favorite memories from covering 37 years of Super Bowls is worth a read.

I don’t know what to make of this. I think the Nuggets definitely need a coach to get in their faces and point out some of their deficiencies. George Karl is certainly not afraid to call a player out, in private, or in public.

So that’s a plus. But here’s the downside: When’s the last time George Karl got as much out of a team as the talent indicated he should? It certainly wasn’t when he had Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glen Robinson in Milwaukee. And it certainly wasn’t when he was coaching Team USA in the 2002 World Championships. I think every good player who’s ever played for him ended up hating him.

I just don’t know what experience he has that indicates he can take a bunch of different parts, and mold them into one cohesive team… and that’s exactly what the Nuggets need right now. It’s a team that features Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, Andre Miller… and on a lot of nights, it seems like Earl Boykins is their best player. I love Earl Boykins, but that’s not a good thing for the Nuggets.

They aren’t perfectly-matched parts. It’s not a team that’s been built precisely, with one specific style of play in mind. San Antonio’s like that, Detroit is like that, Phoenix is like that. The Nuggets are not. George Karl has to find a way to compensate for that.

This is kinda like Mensa advertising during old Roller Derby reruns on ESPN2. It just doesn’t seem to fit. Tobacco is as much a part of Nascar as is gasoline. A Nicorette car? I applaud the move, Nascar. What’s next, an O’Douls non-alcoholic beer car? An NAACP-sponsored race team? A car with “Stop Illiteracy” painted on the hood?

What’s the over/under on the number of times the driver of the Nicorette car gets called a tree-hugging nancy-boy during his first race, right before someone spits a wad of chew on his hood?

I guess they just needed some help weening themselves off of the days of the Winston Cup. I certainly hope this helps. Nicorette now becomes Nascar’s leading advertiser of products that help people quite smoking, replacing Copenhagen and Skoal.