[TheKid]

No I'm not saying it should turn into that, nor would I want it to be the type of games I've ever watched at the Rutger either. I like to consider myself a "traditionalist" and welcoming the "new age" as well. In doing that, I can understand everything these players do now is done in mind with whose watching, and they do want to draw some attention to themselves too, and there's nothing really wrong with that. HOWEVER watching those games, brings me back to the fact that this is a game that's suppose to be fun. It should be fun for the fans and the people playing it. It's hard to compare basketball to baseball in that light, however when you're little, you always dream about doing that stuff, hitting a ball out the ball park, or dunking and having 20,000 fans screaming when you do it. So when I see someone doing something like that, I don't take it as showing up their opponent, I see it as them getting caught up in the action. I guess for me there's a fine line of it being ok then taunting, but as long as it's in FUN, then I don't have a problem with it. Players trash talking or dunking and going nuts, or even hitting a ball out of the ball park and kissing to the camera, if it's done in fun, then I DON'T have a problem with it.

Another example, when the White Sox played the Cubs. Magglio Ordonez hit a homerun that put them in the lead and they won the game. When Ordonez hit the homerun, he crossed homeplate and did Sosa's kiss that he does and bowed to the crowd. NOW, that's trying to show up the opponent. He did that for Sosa's benefit and for the Cubs fan to get pissed about it. He was mocking him. Sosa does his thing for either superstitous reasons, or for kissing for his mom, whatever, but he doesn't do it to show up the pitcher. Bonds or Griffey doesn't watch their homerun go out the park to make the pitcher mad, that's their thing and that's all it is.

As far as basketball goes, it doesn't bother me as much because just as quick as Garnett can come down and dunk on someone and get excited, he can go back down the court and have someone dunk on him and get excited. That's why I really don't mind it in basketball because if it's done in the sense to show up the opponent, it will come back to them.