Superclown Goes To Hollywood

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

At long last, the Dwight Howard Soap Opera is over and it ended in Hollywood.

Superman otherwise known as Superclown has landed in the Entertainment Capital Of The World.

It took four teams, 12 players, five draft picks and countless rounds of talks with different clubs to get a deal done. The NBA may have prevented the Lakers from acquiring Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets since it owned the Louisiana franchise.

But the NBA did itself a favor by approving this deal. The league did all of us a favor so we didn't have to hear the endless hours of trade rumors.

Even if Superclown's future is uncertain in Los Angeles, the Lakers committed grand larceny by keeping Pau Gasol in Purple and Gold in Southern California.

Orlando sent Guard Chris Duhon and Forward Earl Clark to Los Angeles to carry Howard's bags.

The Lakers knew that to land Howard, they'd have to move future superstar Andrew Bynum, whom they've nurtured since he was 17-years old. Former Pistons Coach Doug Collins is the right person to instill discipline in the center.

Like Howard, Bynum becomes a free agent after next season and both have indicated they'll test the market.

However, I doubt Bynum will leave because he grew up an hour away in nearby New Jersey, therefore playing closer to home around friends and family is enticing enough to stay. He'll be able to get a maximum contract with the 76'ers.

The 76'ers have a good young team and are on the rise. They're a very stable organization.

To think that former Detroit Pistons Guard Arron Afflalo is the best player Orlando received in this transaction is mind boggling. But indeed this is the case.

Former 76'ers Guard Andre Iguodala will fit in nicely for the Denver Nuggets. The last player with the initials A.I. Philadelphia traded to Denver was Allen Iverson.

Expect better results with Denver Coach George Karl.

I'm sure the Nuggets have compassion for Orlando since former star Carmelo Anthony held them hostage and forced a trade to the New York Knicks for several players.

Denver made out fine landing pieces which led to the playoffs despite Anthony's departure.

It's ironic to see the Nuggets in another blockbuster trade involving a superstar.

What really happened in Orlando? Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan, 30, panicked and didn't get the best deal he could.

New Jersey offered a nice package around Center Brook Lopez and plenty of first round picks.

Instead, the Magic shipped Howard West because seeing him twice a season, once at home and once on the road was all the drama Orlando wanted to see in the regular season. Orlando wanted to avoid a duplication of the Lebron James fiasco where he could haunt them in the playoffs plus the negative story-lines four times a year.

Getting rid of Howard had to be done, but firing former Coach Stan Van Gundy was completely stupid! I repeat completely stupid!

Time will tell whether the hiring of a new coach will be the right decision. This is a tough situation for Jacque Vaughn to inherit. I wish him well.

But Van Gundy has a winning percentage of .641 and a 579-371 record. He took the Magic to an NBA Finals. That will be difficult to replace.

One thing is guaranteed, Kobe Bryant won't tolerate any controversy, waffling or drama about Howard's future! You can bet on that!

Bryant will rip Howard, 6-11, 265, apart to avoid such distractions. Despite being in Hollywood, this is one act that will draw rage, not ratings.

Howard, 26, will need hearing aides if his antics continue.

I expect to see Kobe Bryant as an NBA head coach one day. Despite the fact that many great players don't turn out to be excellent head coaches, he'll be the exception to the rule.

I saw him on the bench towards the end of the regular season in street clothes. Bryant was coaching his teammates in the huddle during timeouts as well as in the game. Bryant has a great work ethic and has been around basketball his entire life. He'll demand that from his players and will get that respect.

Howard's presence is a good test run.

The Lakers have a veteran group that will pounce on Howard. Magic Johnson will also read Howard the "Riot Act" if Howard continues to become a distraction.

Howard's lucky he's in Los Angeles to rehabilitate his image. There are championships and legends and winning can stabilize a person's psych. We'll see if it does with this clown.

If Howard ever left for his hometown of Dallas, then I'll know the guy is Scrambled Eggs. But I don't think he's dumb enough to do this. Former Lakers Forward Lamar Odom crumbled when he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Odom is now with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Lakers are the Bentley of NBA franchises.

They have appeared in the NBA Finals 31 times and have won 17 titles. The Lakers still hold the NBA's longest winning streak which is also the longest in American Professional Sports History at 33 games that was set in the 1971-72 season.

I don't think Howard will commit Reputational Suicide, but I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again.

Thankfully, I like many others, won't have to hear anymore trade rumors with Howard.

One of my colleagues at work said the Howard to Los Angeles trade wasn't fair. He's a big Miami Heat fan and deep down inside believes that the Heat's chances of repeating took a major blow.

If Miami were to beat the Lakers in the first meeting between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, this will improve James and Company's legacy. If the Heat were to lose, then they will have lost to a great team and the TV Ratings would be off the charts. We'll find out in June of 2013.

The new collective bargaining agreement will limit future "Superstar Alliances" which began with the Boston Celtics, continued with the Miami Heat and has now happened again in Los Angeles.

Seeking multiple Olympians on a few teams and not in small markets will be a thing of the past.

I still haven't figured out which act was worse. Is it Howard's ongoing Soap Opera, or James TV Show "The Decision?"

But I guarantee you one thing.

There will be plenty of empty seats at the Amway Center in Orlando. The Magic has a long rebuilding process which is all too familiar when there is a Lakers---Magic connection.

The Original Superman Shaquille O' Neal left the Magic through free agency and won three titles with the Lakers and the Magic received no compensation.

With Howard's departure, they'll receive next to nothing.

The Amway Center is the building that Howard "Built" then "Bolted."

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and at scottsports33@aol.com.

As The Woods Turns

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

After watching Tiger Woods scripted statement, I told my friend Dennis Roetzel at CiCi's Restaurant in Deerfield Beach, that I didn't want to waste my space talking about his unethical acts of adultery.

But as time progressed and I watched Woods in front of a microphone instead of swinging a golf club, I couldn't resist.

My fellow Capricorn, who was born on Dec 30, 1975, a day after my birthday on Dec 29, isn't as smart as I thought he was.

He should have followed the lead of LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant who committed adultery in Colorado, and admitted he made a mistake just days after his situation happened in November. Perhaps Woods wouldn't have lost as many sponsors while his dignity & integrity wouldn't have taken as big of a hit as it did.

Bryant bought his wife an expensive ring and I'm sure he paid a huge price financially with her to regain her forgiveness in an attempt to regain her trust. To his credit, he's still married and has rebuilt his image, regained sponsors and last season led the Lakers to the NBA title.

Watching Woods TV appearance reminded me of the Watergate Scandal back in the 1970's as every network covered this story. I can just imagine with today's media how much more coverage the Watergate Scandal would have received with CNN, FOX News, FOX, CNBC and MSNBC joining ABC, CBS and NBC.

Woods press conference also reminded me of OJ Simpson's double murder trial. Every media outlet wanted a piece of the action.

To have President Bill Clinton get Impeached because he cheated on his wife Hillary, only not to get removed from office, goes to show you that our society does tolerate idiotic behavior.

We've dealt with steroids, athletes domestic violence issues, drugs and guns. Regardless of how all of this plays out, the end result is "The Cover-Up is worse than the Act."

What Woods did was completely inexcusable!

I despise any type of cheating in a relationship whether it's adultery from an unstable marriage or a partner who is dissatisfied in the relationship. It's happened to me and I wouldn't do it to my partner. If the relationship is bad, then both individuals should move on and go their own separate ways.

Yet in the end, Woods has to own up for what he's done and if his stupidity costs him a lot of money, a career, his beautiful wife Elin as well as the family, then so be it! He violated her trust and she should divorce him!

Woods needs to grow up and be more accountable for his actions!

In some ways, Woods reminds me of Mike Tyson. What doomed Tyson's career was not having his personal priorities in order.

Tyson would proceed to go through a divorce with actress Robin Givens and then eventually lost his heavyweight title on Feb 11, 1990 to Buster Douglas. He would serve three years in an Indiana jail for rape. On June 28, 1997, Tyson tarnished his reputation by biting Evander Holyfield's ear in an attempt to regain his title back.

While I don't think Woods will take as big of a fall as Tyson financially because he seems to have better financial advisors around him and lesser bad habits, Woods still has a chance to resurrect his career.

Three more PGA wins will make second on the all-time wins list with 74 surpassing Jack Nicklaus. Five more majors places Woods with 19 that would break Nicklaus' mark of 18. I can just imagine how many more sponsors he'll acquire if he achieves these accomplishments.

If he wins again, the public will forgive.

While Woods is taking time off from golf to continue his therapy, he should have a Laptop Computer handy and research the rise and fall of some prominent athletes.

As aforementioned, Bryant turned his negative situation into a positive. Tyson's life is truly a sad story because of the fact that the most dominant heavyweight champion of his era could have been headed for additional greatness if his mind wasn't a train-wreck.

Former Tennessee Titans QB Steve McNair was killed as a result of adultery and poor judgement. Former LA Lakers guard Magic Johnson has the HIV Virus because of his aggressive sexual behavior.

I've lost count of how many kids Holyfield has with different ladies. But I do know that if he continues to fight in his 40's to support his children, he's headed down Muhammad Ali territory with future brain damage that could lead to Parkinson's Disease. This will cost Holyfield physically and financially.

Woods, 34, should look at these incidents and learn from them. Tiger should replace the "G" he knows as "Golf" and use "Google" then go to Wikipedia and monitor their downfalls.

I still believe that Woods private life should remain that way. What he does on his own time is his own business.

Where it bothers me the most is having to constantly hear, read and watch his boneheaded mistakes dominate the airwaves when there are more worthwhile things to talk about.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at Scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com