The Smiley Smile Message Board

Oops.  Kev upset some people...
http://blog.oregonlive.com/steveduin/2007/11/whiner_of_the_week_kevin_love.html (http://blog.oregonlive.com/steveduin/2007/11/whiner_of_the_week_kevin_love.html)

ahahahahahahahhahaahhahahahahahahahahhaha

Those genes are pretty dominant in that family aren't they??

If I were him, I'd change my name-and real quick!! :lol

Takes after his uncle Mike, eh?

As an Oregon alum and ongoing Duck fan, I'm glad that Kevin has taken his show to LA instead of following his father's footsteps to Eugene.   What a couple of narcisistic clods.

It shouldn't be surprising that Kevin Love is acting like that, considering his more famous uncle is one of the most "narcissistic clods" in rock and roll. The desire to hog the spotlight, according to this article, sounds like it might run in the Love family.

I don't see what the big deal is, he just wish he had more affection from his hometown fans. He doesn't seem to be making a big deal out of it. Leave it to a blogger with a chip on his shoulder to put it in negative light.

Steve Duin, the author of the piece, has been a columnist for Oregon's largest paper for many years. This entry is from that paper's web site.

Any other evidence of an anti-Love chip on his shoulder or just conjecture?

Word just in...Kevin Love is suing the Lakers for the rights of the team name.

And I'm suing myself for that stupid joke I just made.

It isn't a big deal, I just think the writer was venting on behalf of fans who find it annoying when an athlete who has been publicly praised for YEARS already, despite just being a first-semester college freshman, and who is undoubtedly on the road to certain millions, whines about something so silly--as if the commoners should be grateful to a blue- chip athlete for gracing them with his presence. For me, it's not a BBs or anti-Mike thing. It's the example of how insane our money-sports can be, and how it affects those involved. (And I am a very big bball fan, including of Love's game--he's a brilliant player.)

That's exactly why I stopped watching sports. I went from worshipping arrogant millionaire jocks to worshipping degenerate drug-addled musican/amateur human beings.

Hmmm.  Those degenerate 'drug-addled' musician/amateur human beings also happen to be millionaires.
Some of them are arrogant, some of them aren't so arrogant.  So I guess having the millions (or talent) doesn't matter - you're either arrogant or you're not.  I think it has a lot to do with how you are brought up and what you are told is important...

I hate professional sports. Maybe I should have just stuck with that.

Excerpt from the article:
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/222804.php

According to reports, the Pit Crew bombarded Love with insults — mostly vulgar — and went so far as to put his cell phone number on a sign. Students also held up a sign referring to cocaine use by the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.

BTW, Kevin clobbered the Ducks. 

30 years ago I saw a really well done Beach Boys concert in the same venue, though the guy in sparkling cape who played bass and keyboards was a bit iffy.

Was he constantly taking drags off of a cig between songs and did he sing in a really raspy, out of tune squeal?

It was a better time for him than that of a few years later.....

I am divided....

I think it's neat that the kid is doing something that he wants to do, is passionate about, a career that he enjoys. 
I get the impression his father is the type that stops at nothing to help his kid succeed, but....I think that family truly thrives on drama and attention, the whole bunch of them....the world isn't always going to spin around them, they need to figure that out.

Kevin will figure that out whenever he declares for the NBA draft, because as skilled a player as he is, he's not as big or as athletic as pro scouts and coaches prefer for someone who plays power forward and center (which he does). So he's going to find himself going from superstar to skilled but limited role player. First round pick? Yes. Lottery pick? Maybe. But NBA star? No. Good player. Not star.

Maybe he'll surprise people.  Maybe he won't be a huge star with shoe deals, but good big men are hard to find.  If he can fill that role on a team that really needs someone like that, even without the greatest skills, he could be a very popular player on whatever team he winds up on.

I have no doubt he'll be good--very good, in fact. And he may well be popular, especially (and i'm not trying to start a war here, just stating an observation) with white players often disproportionately popular in the NBA. I'm just saying he won't be a star anymore.

not to sound negative, but why isn't this buried in the Sandbox?

Please name some of the white players that you are thinking of.  I've seen where players recieve disproportionate attention and sometimes a spike in popularity  due to bad behavior  (like Ron Artest or Latrell Sprewell)  but nothing overtly race-based. 

The Love connection, I suppose. But it obviously belongs there. I'll try to move it by the force of my mind.

f***. Didn't work.

No question negative behavior gets people a lot of attention.

What I'm talking about is the sort of acclaim guys like, say, Wally Szczerbiak got while in Minnesota. (Or for that matter, Fred Hoiberg, Mark Madsen, etc.) He was a good player, but certainly no star, yet he was consistently the second-biggest endorser and occasionally most-cheered player, even over Kevin Garnett. In Seattle, guys like Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison at times have been probably over-rated. Kirk Hinrich in Chicago before this year. Kyle Korver when he was in Philly. Adam Morrison before his rookie year. I don't think there's anything malicious going on, but I do think it's likely that people are more apt to somehow relate to and cheer for someone they think is more like them. And the bulk of the NBA's paying audience is white.

Again, not trying to start a controversy. Just observing. And I'm certainly not the first person to say this stuff.

Fair enough, you gave some examples where you feel that is true.  I disagree though I'd be willing to look at any endorsement statistical evidence since it is a measure that is not just perception.  I feel that most  people that make these kinds of assertions are simply parroting agenda-driven propaganda.   My experience is they usually get flustered when you ask for examples and respond defensively with "everybody knows" type nonsense.

I'll give you an example from a team in my area.  Luke Walton on the Lakers.  I feel like he gets just about exactly the level of attention he deserves for the level of player he is.  He is white, he a good looking guy, and he is the son of a former  UCLA and pro super-star.  People know who he is a little more, because he is a Walton just like they would if Kareem had a son in the NBA.  However he is getting about the level of attention here that any player playing at the level he is would (very good but generally a little less than great) .         

Madsen was loathed in LA because he stunk

Luckily I didn't mention his time in L.A., did I?

  Calm down. Just noting that he didn't get "acclaim" everywhere...

I'm calm. In fact, I was napping. It was awesome.

I think that when somebody doesn't fit the stereo type it causes people to notice. In basketball, 6'7 athletic black guys dominate the sport. So when guys like Dirk Nowitski, Wally Szerbiac, and even Yao Ming show they have skills, people notice.

It is the opposite for QBs in football. That position is dominated by white guys like Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Joe Montana. Then guys like Michael Vick, Donavon McNabb and Warren Moon show that they can play too, it causes people to notice.

About 15 years ago, major league baseball begin to bring in a lot of Japanese, Korean and other Asian players. When they showed they could compete with Americans, it caused people to notice.

Basketball has been, and still is, dominated by black players for the last 40 plus years. So whenever Larry Bird or Dirk Nowitski shows they can hang with the best of them, people notice.

hey wow, it got moved. that took a while.

Kevin was chosen Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year, only the 2nd time a freshman has earned that honor.

Yesterday, UCLA won again and is on the way to the Final Four.....and Kevin Love was chosen Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional bracket.

The headline here is "Love is  a many splendored thing"
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/232045

The day the Love family's last name is not used in a pun is the day the world ends.

Get your life in order---Kevin's on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, with no love pun caption.
I didn't look inside, so there could be a pun in the oven, keeping us safe for another day.  ;)

There is no joy in Westwood, Mighty Kevin was shut down.

Memphis whipped them in the Final Four game.

4/18/08 LOS ANGELES - UCLA's Kevin Love is NBA-bound. Less than two weeks after leading the Bruins to the Final Four, the All-American freshman announced Thursday that he'll skip his final three college seasons and enter the NBA draft....but he hasn't hired an agent....so if he doesn't get the "right" offer he remains eligible to play for UCLA.

Love's father sat looking considerably shaggier than his short-haired, suit-and-tied son.

"I'm trying to get this guy to dress better," Kevin Love said.

"It's his coat," Stan Love replied.