Latest news with #Scalabrine
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former NFL TE says Commanders safety is an athletic 'freak'
So you think you could play in the NFL? Former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen and Craig Hoffman engaged in a conversation on their latest edition of the "Take Command" podcast, discussing the athleticism of NFL players. Paulsen mentioned the Commanders' rookie undrafted safety last year, Tyler Owens. "He's a freak, right?" said Paulsen. Logan then told of how, though Owens is a physical specimen, he last year only saw action for the most part on special teams. "He's a special-teams backup because he lacks some of that football intuition right now. Can you learn it? Sure. Can you develop it? For certain. I think that is where the starting players are special." Paulsen broke out and told an old story about how one of his NFL tight end coaches had used a grading system for players for about a decade. The coach graded all but two players as green athletically and had two players whom he graded down athletically as red. The coach was talking with Paulsen one day, conveying to him that in the decade, he had only graded two of his tight ends in the red. Paulsen, curious, asked, only to be surprised to find out he himself was one of the two! When Paulsen was asked one time to join a bunch of athletic guys in a game of flag football. They could not believe all of the plays that Paulsen was making, such as touchdowns and an interception. Afterward, one of the guys told Paulsen that he viewed him as an NFL scrub, and now he marveled because Paulsen had just proven he was much more athletic than all the other guys playing. Do you remember Brian Scalabrine? He was a mere role player, spending 11 NBA seasons on the bench. Those who played basketball in high school might view themselves as athletic. Still, they have no idea of the numerous levels of basketball players who have played in college, some of whom made it to the NBA, some were starters, some were All-Stars, and even fewer were superstars. Scalabrine was criticized by someone who was clueless and had no comprehension of the many levels of athleticism out there, and Scalabrine responded, "I'm way closer to LeBron than you are to me." The same holds true in every sport; the golfers, swimmers, basketball players, football players, and tennis pros you see on television are far better than anyone you have most likely seen in person in your respective sport.
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
On this day: Brian Scalabrine makes NBA debut; 2nd lowest point total
On this day: Brian Scalabrine makes NBA debut; 2nd lowest point total On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion Boston big man (and now NBC Boston Sports broadcaster) Brian Scalabrine made his NBA debut back in 2001 -- though not with the Celtics. Scalabrine would play his collegiate basketball with the University of Southern California Trojans before being picked up with the 34th overall pick by the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in the 2001 NBA draft, chalking up a pair of trips to the NBA Finals in his first two seasons in the league as a player. White Mamba -- as he is sometimes called -- would play four seasons with the Nets before leaving the team that drafted him. He would leave to sign with the Celtics as an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2005-06 NBA season. The Ginger Ninja (another nickname of his) made his debut for the Nets on this day in 2002 in a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. New Jersey won the game 125-100, and Scalabrine scored 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in it. It is also the date of the second-lowest point total scored in a game in the shot-clock era (and it is a tie with a game played by Boston on Jan. 4, 2002), a 118 - 66 shellacking by the Detroit Pistons played in 2003 at the Fleet Center (now, TD Garden). Only two Celtics scored in double figures -- Paul Pierce put up 23 points and 9 boards, while J.R. Bremer added 10 points in the soul-crushing loss. Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on: Apple Podcasts: Spotify:
