In my humble opinion, there are only two magazines worth reading. #1 on the "throne" list is MAD. For over four decades yours truly has marveled at the brilliant and biting satire they have, and continue to offer. They play no favorites and nobody is off-limits. Their artists are equally world-class. The next issue showing up in the mailbox remains quite the joy.
The other is Sports Illustrated. True, unlike MAD (eight issues a year), SI comes every week. Trying to cover the entire gamut of sports is a daunting job and something "newsworthy" seems to be happening year round. Hence the need to roll the presses on a weekly basis. That, plus the additional cha-chings they get from subscribers paying for more editions, and all the ads contained therein.
Perhaps a comparison of quality versus quantity.
Nevertheless, SI comes up with some good stuff once in a while. Which brings me to a little blurb in their latest issue concerning Draymond Green, a player for the Golden State Warriors.
This guy should be the MVP of the NBA this year -- hands down. Sure, his teammate Stephen Curry has already obliterated the record for the most 3-point shots made in a single year. And the media and fans have long been infatuated with hoopsters that rack up a lot of points -- even if they're deficient in other areas of the game. Lots of guys could shoot and dunk, still can, but that didn't make them terrific "overall" players. Things like passing to the open man, grabbing rebounds, and playing tenacious defense should certainly be factored in as well when considering who is the most valuable player indeed.
According to the SI blurb -- this year Draymond Green has done something no other player in NBA history has accomplished before. He's the one and only player to have scored over 1000 points, snatched 500 rebounds, has 500 assists, and 100 steals in a single regular season. Actually, at last count those numbers were 1056, 733, 567, and 114 respectively -- with a few games left to go.
Whether or not the Warriors go on to repeat as champions is irrelevant. MVP votes are supposedly cast after the regular season is over but before the playoffs begin.
So here's the question. How can a guy that has accomplished such a multi-feat -- which has never been done before -- NOT be the MVP?
Most valuable player is just that. It should encompass ALL aspects of the game, not just hot-shot shooters. And nobody has done it all better -- EVER -- than Draymond Green this year.
Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. There's another difference between MAD and SI, besides their publication frequency.
Sportswriters come and sportswriters go. Some are better than others.
But the likes of Don Martin, Al Jaffee, Antonio Prohias, Sergio Aragones, and Dave Berg from MAD will always be legends.....
What me worry?
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