Reggie Bush not endearing himself to fans

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I think someone needs to take Reggie Bush’s Twitter account away, at least for the time being. Bush’s comments about how the lockout is fine by him since, essentially, he gets to “chill” isn’t going to sit well with anyone, especially considering he hasn’t been participating in the Saints’ offseason “players-only” workouts orchestrated at Tulane by Drew Brees and the Saints’ veteran leaders.

And also, Reggie, word to the wise: you’re not endearing yourself to ANYONE with a “Just kidding, everyone chill out” type of follow up. People aren’t going to chill out because you’re coming off of one of the most disappointing seasons of your NFL career. You just used Twitter to essentially cry about your team bringing in another player at your position. That, while unprofessional, was somewhat understandable because I can understand some frustration there.

But saying everything’s cool with the lockout is a real slap in the face of your fans, fans who just want to know at this point that they’re even going to see you play in September.

I maintain my stance on Reggie: the Saints are a better team with him and need to make a real effort at bringing him back into the fold at an affordable price.

But he’s not a Twitter All-Pro, for sure. I tend to think that he’s driven enough to be working toward coming back with a vengeance, but it would be nice if he actually conveyed that sentiment to his fans.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an NBA team shoot like Dallas did on Sunday. You make 20 threes? 20 of 32?? Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic combined to hit 15 of 16!

I don’t think anyone expected the Lakers to go down without a fight, but the Mavs brought their crucifix, holy water and garlic necklace into the American Airlines Center to slay Dracula, and by halftime the stake was already protruding from Kobe’s heart.

Personally, I love it: I appreciate the greatness of some of the L.A. players, but I’ve also had a bad taste in my mouth ever since Memphis seemed to “gift” them Pau Gasol for virtually nothing. Everything since has seemed tainted. (And no, that Marc Gasol is currently beasting for Memphis doesn’t justify the trade. At the time, he was just a second rounder. Pau has been a much better player for all up until these playoffs. I think L.A. will take their two titles.)

Seeing how Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum reacted to the loss justified a lot of those feelings, at least for me.

But also, I really like this Mavs team. I like seeing Dirk Nowitzki get his due and I really like seeing two former Hornets in Peja and Tyson Chandler rip it up. My favorite players in the league have always tended to be great, pure shooters, guys like Ray Allen, Allen Houston and Stephen Curry. Any team that can boast Dirk and Peja in the same lineup? Sign me up.

Also, a comment on the sense of entitlement of L.A. fans: just because your team disappointed doesn’t mean you’re owned the services of Dwight Howard or Chris Paul. If you deal Andrew Bynum to one, he either gets hurt and messes your plans up or he stays healthy, beasts out, and leaves as a free agent most likely. And if you’re trading one of those guys, an older, highly paid player like Gasol probably isn’t on your wishlist either.

Howard — or sadly, Paul — might find their way to L.A. eventually as free agents, provided you can dump cap space (re: Gasol), but for now I think it’s wishful thinking by a city that’s shocked by its team’s sudden collapse.