West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: Now_Im_Not_Banned on February 07, 2007, 12:46:28 PM
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About his appearance in the slam dunk contest:
"I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day," Thomas said. When asked about the benefit to being alongside the association's best, he said, "I'm just into the free money. That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there."
Ummmmm, LMFAO. What the hell was that about? He just lost more money than he probably woulda' made in the contest... What a dumbshit. :-X
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LMAO, Dictator Stern at it again
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LMAO, Dictator Stern at it again
LOL...But you gotta admit, his comments were pretty brainless and pathetic. I'm surprised he wasn't banned from the contest...
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LMAO, Dictator Stern at it again
LOL...But you gotta admit, his comments were pretty brainless and pathetic. I'm surprised he wasn't banned from the contest...
I agree, it was a extremely stupid thing to say I do admit that.
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Go Stern go, fuck that nigga, I hope someone in the crowd hits him with stuff.
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Go Stern go, fuck that nigga, I hope someone in the crowd hits him with stuff.
lol calm down man
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watch him lose
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watch him lose
o he will
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LMAO, Dictator Stern at it again
actually the bulls fined...step ya game up
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Yea, it was Paxson that fined him, but I understand why he'd get confused...
NBA Looking To Dunk Tyrus Thomas (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/02/source_nba_look.html)
The NBA is looking to remove Chicago Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas from the all-star slam-dunk competition and replace him, a prominent agent has told us.
Thomas was fined $10,000 by the league after telling reporters he didn't really care about going for anything but the money.
Thomas said he was "going out there, get my check and call it a day."
"The league is looking to replace him," the agent said.
The Magic's Dwight Howard is one of the four contestants.
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Tyrus down $10K before hitting Vegas (http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/246368,CST-SPT-tyrus07.article)
February 7, 2007
BY BRIAN HANLEY Staff Reporter
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas spent some time after practice Tuesday working on dunks for All-Star weekend. His participation in the contest already has proved costly to him.
General manager John Paxson fined Thomas $10,000 for comments he made Monday. Thomas was quoted as saying he was ''just into the free money'' when questioned about the Feb. 17 contest, which guarantees the four participants a minimum $16,125 and up to $35,000 for the winner.
''I'm just going to go out there [to Las Vegas], get my check and call it a day,'' Thomas also was quoted as saying.
In a team statement released Tuesday, Paxson said: ''This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the Slam Dunk Contest. It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization, and I am certainly disappointed. The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its premier All-Star events, and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility. I spoke to Tyrus this morning and am confident he understands that he made a mistake with his words and that he also understands the importance of representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way.''
Thomas, 20, also spoke to league officials Tuesday.
''It's a learning experience, a big one,'' he said. ''It was just a little misinterpreting of what I said. It kind of makes me upset. I guess I wasn't so enthused when I was talking that [the reporter] took it as if I didn't want to do it. I just have to be more careful of what I say. I just have to be more precise about what I'm saying.''
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Bulls fine Thomas $10,000
GM Paxson 'disappointed' in rookie (http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070206bullsthomas,1,6633340.story?coll=cs-home-headlines)
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
February 6, 2007, 10:20 PM CST
If Tyrus Thomas collects any money at the NBA's slam-dunk contest, a $10,000 fine Bulls general manager John Paxson levied Tuesday will partly offset his haul.
Paxson reacted swiftly and seriously to comments Thomas made in a Monday interview with the Tribune in which the rookie forward repeatedly claimed his only interest in the All-Star weekend event was the prize money.
"This fine is an appropriate response," Paxson said in a statement. "It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization, and I am certainly disappointed.
"The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its premier All-Star events, and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility."
Paxson disclosing the amount of the fine is a radical departure from organizational policy. And it speaks to his level of disappointment.
An appeal is expected. Repeated calls to Thomas' agent to determine if an appeal would be made through the players association weren't returned.
The NBA league office has yet to determine if Thomas' invitation will be rescinded.
Thomas said he planned to donate any money he won to his high school. He hopes he still gets the opportunity. In an interview after Bulls practice in Sacramento, Thomas more fully explained his remarks.
"Everybody who knows me knows I'm just a chill guy, so maybe I should've been enthused about it," Thomas said. "Who wouldn't want to be in the dunk contest? More people watch that than the game itself.
"This is a learning experience for me. I have to tell you exactly what I feel and make sure I say what I mean. I can't fault [reporters] for doing [their] jobs.
"A lot of people are going to look down on what I said. There's nothing I can do now. It was totally misinterpreted. I'm going to go out and try to win the dunk contest and have fun and represent the Bulls well."
P.J. Brown is a fellow Louisiana native who has been a mentor to Thomas this season. Their lockers are next to each other at home and for road games. Thomas has been a frequent visitor to Brown's house and has befriended Brown's family.
Speaking from Sacramento, Brown defended Thomas.
"From what Tyrus told me from Day One when he first heard he might get invited, he was excited about the opportunity," Brown said. "He was definitely looking forward to representing the Bulls.
"As far as his comments, it's just a young mistake. He's in the early stages of his career. It's something he can learn from and move forward. He'll be a better person for it."
After starting two games in January for the injured Ben Wallace, Thomas, 20, has played just 18 minutes in the first four games of the Bulls' seven-game trip, which continues Thursday night in Sacramento.
Asked if frustration over playing time could have fueled his controversial comments, Thomas said no. He is averaging 10.3 minutes.
"I actually talked to someone about that [Tuesday] who thought maybe because of that, but, nah," Thomas said. "Of course I want to play. But there are things I need to do to get better so coach feels comfortable. So that didn't have anything to do with it. I learned how to deal with not playing. I'm not accepting it. But it's not a frustrating matter for me."
Coach Scott Skiles, through a team spokesman, deferred to Paxson's statement on the issue.
The fine is the largest on record for the Bulls since November 2001, when former GM Jerry Krause docked Charles Oakley $50,000 after Oakley ripped coach Tim Floyd for making a five-man substitution.
Paxson talked to Thomas on Tuesday morning and took action before the NBA league office could do so.
"I'm confident he understands that he made a mistake with his words and that he also understands the importance of representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way," Paxson's statement continued.
Thomas said he does understand.
"I didn't want by any means to make it seem that I'm going out there for the money," Thomas said. "I'm not keeping the money anyway. I was going to give that to my high school. I'm going to go out and have fun and relax from the season."
Heavyweights Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter will judge the contest, whose winner gets $35,000. The runner-up receives $22,500, and third- and fourth-place finishers receive $16,125.
Not that it's about the money.
"Tyrus is a good kid who means well," Brown said. "Things happen. Sometimes you say things you don't mean. From what he's told me, he's super excited about going to Las Vegas and having fun in the contest. And he wants to win it."
It's up to the league office whether Thomas gets that chance.
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Rookie Thomas is spoiled, rotten
Comments on dunk contest show side many haven't seen (http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070206smith,1,6169790.column?page=1&coll=cs-home-headlines)
SACRAMENTO -- How's that adage go? Better to remain quiet and let them think you the fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Yes, folks, introducing Tyrus Thomas.
The Bulls rookie, likely spending time these days in the Latrell Sprewell school of public relations, was justifiably fined by the team for his astounding comments that his participation in the All-Star Game dunk contest was purely mercenary on his part.
You could just see NBA Commissioner David Stern with his head in his hands, another of his kids saying the darnedest things. The discussion at NBA headquarters Tuesday was whether to throw the bum out of the contest.
After all, here was a player appearing to confirm just what many believe, that the NBA is composed of a wandering band of ungrateful thugs who are selfish, spoiled brats just in it for the riches they can gain.
My experience over the last quarter-century is that is not true, that the vast majority of players, despite the occasional Rasheed-ish or Fortson-esque outburst, are decent people who truly appreciate and treasure the game.
Not jerks like, yes, Thomas.
This is one of those things you hear at parties from reporters, the stuff we don't write. See, we are not as bad as advertised. In fact, we try to write about the games and try not to embarrass the players. We really are more guilty of romanticizing the players than tearing them down.
It's one of those unwritten rules, like ignoring Gary Hart's philandering in the 1984 presidential race. Reporters knew about it, but that was his private life. If he wants to live like that, fine, even when he is running for the nation's highest office.
It's especially so in sports. Publish or perish! Nonsense.
Those kinds of stories are mostly unheard of.
Everyone deserves their privacy and if it doesn't interfere with your job or you don't make a spectacle of yourself, well, it's just good party talk.
But once Hart challenged everyone to prove it, well, sorry, your cover is blown.
Make a public fool of yourself, then the Bull has no clothes.
Same with Thomas.
He has been one of the most difficult rookies to come along in the NBA in years—angry, defiant, condescending, arrogant and having little time or interest for anyone below his self-perceived stately place in life.
You want to be like that? Fine. There are plenty of other players to talk to. Good guys. The Bulls really are filled with them.
Like Thabo Sefolosha. What a wonderful young man.
I was watching this scene one day in the Bulls locker room.
After games, the players are ripping off tape and dirty clothes, tossing them into a big basket or tub for good-natured equipment man John Ligmanowski to dispose of or clean. Despite the fact they are supposed to be some of the best marksmen in the world, Ben Wallace excluded, the clothes and tape rarely seem to hit their mark. Everyone gets up and leaves. But Sefolosha went over to pick up his clothes or litter and deposit them where they belong. He apparently didn't want to make more work for Ligmanowski.
The NBA likes players to talk to reporters, but it is not required. Reporters generally know and don't bother someone who isn't interested. But the players understand the relationships with reporters and usually are pleasant, if not deep.
Thomas, who has occasional flashes of candor, generally stares down with disdain, mumbles some cliché and walks away. His response about the dunk contest to Tribune beat reporter K.C. Johnson was typical. He can't be bothered with mere mortals.
Not that this is new.
As far back as the NBA draft, league officials said Thomas was abrupt and uninterested when some tried to make conversation with him. There always seemed to be some bizarre sense of entitlement with him, that anything asked of him is a burden, that the media and team and league officials are some nuisance.
This sort of attitude can get a pass because sometimes you need a jerk to win.
It often has been said, even by the coaching staff, the Bulls players are too nice, a product of the organization's appropriate philosophy of seeking out players of character who are committed to the game, who want to be at practice and play hard. So how did the Bulls end up drafting Thomas? My guess is it wasn't a very good draft, and they decided to take a chance on talent.
Thomas has that, but he also has an edge, a desirable commodity often in short supply.
He seemed almost insulted when reporters asked him about playing against Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan. He was Tyrus Thomas, after all.
But you take a look back over championship teams and there were a lot of these guys. Sprewell helped lead two previously underachieving teams to conference finals, Chicago-favorite James Posey, Rasheed Wallace and Vernon Maxwell come to mind as effective if irascible players. And don't forget old-time tough guys such as Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Jim Loscutoff and Maurice Lucas. This type of player is not always angry or unfriendly, except to opponents.I wouldn't quite get rid of Thomas. I would just hope he keeps his mouth shut, lets his play speak and permits us to believe he's someone different than we know.
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How stupid are players getting nowadays.
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LMAO, Dictator Stern at it again
:-X