How sad to wake up on Saturday morning and have an otherwise excellent-as-ever Bill Simmons NFL picks column interrupted by one harsh bummer of an assessment from an eyewitness in Turkey:
“[ESPN’s Kevin Wildes – you know, the dude that had Simmons’ ‘Book of Basketball’ shot on national TV] attended an Allen Iverson game in Turkey and reported, ‘Remember how you felt/feel when you see the video of him crossing Jordan?* Well, watching him in Turkey is the opposite of that. I’m filing this experience in the same bin as these great moments – watching Roy Jones get knocked out, watching Bo Jackson limp around the bases in a White Sox uniform, and watching my parents beg for change in Romania [which hasn’t happened yet, but you get the point].’
“Wildes believes that ESPN needs to rescue Iverson from Turkey and get him on a studio show pronto. I’m giving that one a vigorous ‘co-sign.’ Hell, I’d give him his own show called ‘Allen Iverson is Burning’ or ‘Excuse Me, I Have The Answer.’ Remind me to make this my life’s mission after he quits the Turkish team. Which should be in about two weeks.”
Let’s hope that’s not so.
Iverson’s Beşiktaş Cola Turka today host Trabzonspor, or rather more wordily, Medical Park Trabzonspor Basketbol, in Istanbul as the Eagles seek their first win in the A.I. Era. Surely this game represents an excellent opportunity to finally break through: At 1-5, Trabzonspor is dangerously close to the relegation zone as they sit in 13th place of 16 top-division teams; average point differential has been minus-13.3 points.
Tipoff time is 4pm CET (10am EST).
* Here’s video of Iverson-crossing-Jordan:
