T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

[rockchisler]

You guys remember when he said he would be scared or nervous to play all star game in N.O. because what happened with Katrina and said that security would be an issue for the players, well he don't have to worry since he was snubbed. Good job voters for not selecting this bum...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-mcgrady030207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[SpacemanSpiff]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

You guys remember when he said he would be scared or nervous to play all star game in N.O. because what happened with Katrina and said that security would be an issue for the players, well he don't have to worry since he was snubbed. Good job voters for not selecting this bum...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Thanks, this topic was really necessary.

[TMagic]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Yeah. You can pretty much tell that the writer is not a fan of McGrady's.

I don't see how you can bash a player because he's worried about his own safety. Especially after last year's all star weekend. Here's part of what Bill Simmons (writer for espn) said about the weekend in Vegas:

What a strange weekend... So many parties happened that it was impossible to keep track of everything. Unfortunately, the stifling gridlock made it impossible to hit multiple events in one night unless you could afford a limo or helicopter (or were robbing someone who could afford a limo or helicopter). So many gangbangers and troublemakers flooded the Strip that late-night gamblers willingly chose 75-minute cab lines over a 15-minute walk to their next casino. So many wild stories floated around about shootings, robberies and everything else that we never knew what to believe; still, every tale seemed reasonable because there were no cops to be seen. On Saturday night, one of my friends even joked that the city might have to declare martial law, only none of us laughed because we didn't realize he was joking.

I'm telling you, this was a f***ing free-for-all. This was every man for himself. This was Hunter S. Thompson's dream sports weekend. This was Vegas on steroids. This was Vegas' impression of Barry Bonds during spring training in 1998, only if he reeked like stale bong water. And now that it's over, I'm relieved that we finished the weekend without a single riot, that I made it home alive, that I'm still married, that I still have my wallet, that I spent 15 hours playing blackjack in each of four consecutive days and escaped dead-even, that I'm coherent enough to write with the stale smell of weed still trapped in my nostril hairs and my body battling the effects of 72 hours without a single REM cycle. Say what you want about the Hip-Hop Woodstock, but it was definitely memorable. Then again, so is an appendectomy.

Here's the whole article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/070220

[TMagic]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

You guys remember when he said he would be scared or nervous to play all star game in N.O. because what happened with Katrina and said that security would be an issue for the players, well he don't have to worry since he was snubbed. Good job voters for not selecting this bum...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Your author also tries to nullify how bad it was in Vegas. He's obviously uninformed and he must not have been there as he appears very ignorant to how bad it was last year. Here's a quote from another writer:

Now, here is what was really interesting. While I was watching another game, I randomly asked the dealer what NBA All-Star Weekend in Vegas was like. She said, "Oh, the media didn't report things correctly--It was much worse." She then went on to tell me the horror stories of waitresses and dealers being physically assaulted, casinos closing due to the mayhem, fights breaking out, and pure overall chaos. Her final words to me were, "If this town ever holds another All-Star game, I won't work. I have the vacation time, I will take the week off. It was awful."

One pit boss told me there were two gang fights inside of the casino with guns drawn, and that there were 20 reported rapes that weekend alone. Some local reports said crime went up 80 percent that weekend alone. These stories continued all week. Female employees at one establishment were told not to come into work for their own safety; the ones who did work needed armed escorts to their cars because they were afraid for their safety. Out of the 14 casino employees I spoke with, all of them said they would never work if the All-Star game came back to Las Vegas.

You can read the whole article here: http://vermontradioguy.blogspot.com/...s-and-nba.html

So again I ask you, can you really blame the man for being worried about his safety?

[rockchisler]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Your author also tries to nullify how bad it was in Vegas. He's obviously uninformed and he must not have been there as he appears very ignorant to how bad it was last year. Here's a quote from another writer:





You can read the whole article here: http://vermontradioguy.blogspot.com/...s-and-nba.html

So again I ask you, can you really blame the man for being worried about his safety?

But as a high profile athlete that can happen any where...Sean Taylor, Eddy Curry among others...not just in N.O or Vegas

[CMH]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

This is only news because people are extra sensitive of any negative remarks about New Orleans after Katrina.

If someone doesn't like a place and feels unsafe it's not an invitation to consider him irresponsible and selfish. It's an invitation to withhold one.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Yeah, the area around the hotel in N.O. is quite dangerous. Almost like a warzone. Just look at Navarro and Sciola run across the street while being harassed by the thugs and hoodlums of N.O. Good thing they have all that security protecting them as they head to the arena.




Tracy's a jerk. I hope they boo him every time the Rockets play the Hornets. Matter of fact, I hope the Rockets and Hornets meet in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Get it...first round + Tracy =

[TMagic]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Yeah, the area around the hotel in N.O. is quite dangerous. Almost like a warzone. Just look at Navarro and Sciola run across the street while being harassed by the thugs and hoodlums of N.O. Good thing they have all that security protecting them as they head to the arena.




Tracy's a jerk. I hope they boo him every time the Rockets play the Hornets. Matter of fact, I hope the Rockets and Hornets meet in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Get it...first round + Tracy =

First of all, thats during the day.

Second, you have no idea where that hotel is at. In could be quite far from where any congestion or traffic would be. In the "safer", less populous parts of New Orleans.

Third, Tracy was just going off of what happened in Las Vegas. New Orleans is another party/tourist city like Las Vegas.

Fourth, if you didn't know, New Orleans has one of the highest crime rates in the Nation.

C'mon now. Let's be real.

[Brankles]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

I went to New Orleans only once, during Mardi Gras, and got my wallet pickpocketed while I was sitting down at Cafe DuMont eating those powdered sugar fried dough things at 3 am.

I can't blame TMac for saying what he did. I'm not too big a fan of New Orleans, and considering the crime rate being the highest in the nation, I would say it's one of the worst locations for a huge event like the all-star game.

[aholbert32]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

First of all, thats during the day.

Second, you have no idea where that hotel is at. In could be quite far from where any congestion or traffic would be. In the "safer", less populous parts of New Orleans.

Third, Tracy was just going off of what happened in Las Vegas. New Orleans is another party/tourist city like Las Vegas.

Fourth, if you didn't know, New Orleans has one of the highest crime rates in the Nation.

C'mon now. Let's be real.

Thats the Marriott. Right in the heart of the city where most of the traffic and congestion is.

DC has a high crime rate and no one complained about the game being there.

[jmood88]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

I can't blame TMac for saying what he did. I'm not too big a fan of New Orleans, and considering the crime rate being the highest in the nation, I would say it's one of the worst locations for a huge event like the all-star game.

Despite the fact that it's held in a tourist area with police everywhere and that it's the home of the Sugar Bowl, is in the rotation for the BCS Championship while being a frequent host of the Superbowl, New Orleans is the worst place to hold a huge event. You have no idea what you're talking about.

[jmood88]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

This is only news because people are extra sensitive of any negative remarks about New Orleans after Katrina.

If someone doesn't like a place and feels unsafe it's not an invitation to consider him irresponsible and selfish. It's an invitation to withhold one.

It was a stupid thing to say regardless. It's not like New Orleans never hosts bigger events than the Allstar game.

[Vince]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Exactly. There's high crime rates everywhere in the United States.

Did anyone complain when the Super Bowl was in Detroit?

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Two things:

1. I have a problem with the thread. The man said this a while back right?

2. Mac defenders are really stretching it. Comical

[Real2KInsider]

Re: T Mac Last year scared to play allstar game in NO.

Exactly. There's high crime rates everywhere in the United States.

Did anyone complain when the Super Bowl was in Detroit?

Cities are far better prepared for the Super Bowl than they are for the NBA All-Star game.

Every gangster rapper, NBA entourage member, etc is in town for the all-star game. Having it in a city without much security to begin is not safe.

You people forget that NBA players get ROBBED AT GUNPOINT on a fairly frequent basis. Antoine Walker and a a few others withinin the last year. Eddy Curry's house was robbed and the dude was ****ing tied up and gagged.

But sure, let's get on the guy for being concerned about his own well-being.

There were players who did not go to THE OLYMPICS for security reasons, so what makes an all-star game any different?