Sports Guy and Clippers Jinx Combine to Sideline Blake Griffin
The following excerpt appeared in Bill Simmons’ most recent NBA preview column, which was posted on October 23rd:
Griffin is the luckiest blue-chipper since them: not only does he play for a potential playoff team, but he doesn’t have to fight with someone for minutes or carry the scoring load. He just has to worry about running the floor, rebounding and finishing. A cushy situation, to say the least. For once, it appears as if becoming a Clipper was the BEST thing that could have happened to someone.
(Note: Please don’t e-mail this paragraph to me in three weeks if Blake is rolling around on the floor holding his right ankle. Thank you.)
Unfortunately for Blake Griffin, Clippers fans, and basketball fans in general, the following headline appeared on ESPN.com this morning: “Clippers’ Griffin has broken kneecap, out weeks.”
Well that sucks.
If you’re a Clippers fan, looks like it’s time to start emailing or tweeting Simmons.
As a Hoosier fan, the Clippers have become one of the NBA teams I follow due to Eric Gordon. I was very excited about the potential for the Clips to be a much improved team this year with the dynamic Griffin running the floor and providing a uniquely big and athletic presence on both ends.
Now it looks like we will have to wait (most likely six weeks). And it’s all Bill Simmons’ fault.
Sure, Simmons said his “ankle,” and said “three weeks,” but still. Perhaps the recent catastrophe at his D.C. book signing was karmic payback for jinxing Blake Griffin and making Clippers fans feel worse than they already do.
Probably not. Griffin is, after all, a Clipper…which makes him infinitely more prone to jinxes and freakish injury than anyone other than a Madden cover boy. I hope Eric Gordon is plotting his exit as quickly as humanly possible, if he can get out alive.
Still, the proximity of Simmons’ article and Griffin’s injury make such a connection obvious. I’m just glad Simmons isn’t a college basketball fan so he can’t talk about how Christian Watford and Maurice Creek are in great, “cushy” situations at Indiana, and then…
Well you know the rest.
Get well soon Blake. Few rookies promise the excitement and immediate impact of a guy like Blake Griffin. He was averaging 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in the preseason after averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game last year in college.
Let’s just hope it’s not something that lingers. Like franchise-wide jinxes and offhand jokes about injuries in Sports Guy columns…
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* – Blake Griffin photo credit: Newscom via EveryJoe.com
Tags: bill simmons, Blake Griffin, blake griffin injured, blake griffin injury, jinxes, los angeles clippers, the sports guy
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And it happened the day his book came out. It's obviously, OBVIOUSLY his fault.
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JerodMSF Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Clearly! Simmons obviously has it in for the Clippers.
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KVB Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I just read his NBA preview column early this morning. Get done, click over to yahoo to check my emails and see the headline of the injury. Unbelievable. Gerlach got of the book today.
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JerodMSF Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I want to read it! I'm sure it's great.
I was at the ESPN Zone last night and what happened last night was ENTIRELY the fault of Simmons' publisher. Bill had told them for weeks they needed to seriously increase the amount of books they were planning to provide and they just didn't listen.
Simmons felt horrible for the people who stood for hours in line, some of them in the rain.
The publisher f***ed up, big-time.
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JerodMSF Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I'm sure it was. Simmons seemed genuinely pissed in his tweets.
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[...] Griffin. When’s the last time they could say that about anyone in a Clippers uniform?"Midwest Sports Fans: "As a Hoosier fan, the Clippers have become one of the NBA teams I follow due to Eric [...]
The Clippers are cursed & jinxed and have been since they were in San Diego, what Simmons did was give a truth-with-no-mercy prediction and sure enough it came true. When Walton came to the Clippers the same thing happened except it was his foot. Of course it didn't get better until he was on the Celtics championship team in '86.
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Eric Gordon was awesome at Indiana. Got to see him play my Spartans and he was a man among boys. His range is unlimited and his strength going inside is amazing. Truly a pro body with big time skills.
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