OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

[Dewey2007]

I'm watching the ESPN show 30 for 30 "Without Bias" about the death of Len Bias and it its bringing back so many memories.

As a young sports fan at the time it happened this is probably the most tragic death of a player that I can remember. Probably because I was only 17 at the time when it happened and I followed the ACC pretty closely even though I lived in California. Even though he got drafted by the Celtics that didn't matter much because he was going to be the shit when he got to the NBA. I just wanted to see him play.

Anyhow, I know all of us have our own tragic sports memories that have left us shaking our heads and thinking of what could have been. This happened 23 years ago and it is still so vivid to me.

Damn shame...RIP Len

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

I'm watching the ESPN show 30 for 30 "Without Bias" about the death of Len Bias and it its bringing back so many memories.

As a young sports fan at the time it happened this is probably the most tragic death of a player that I can remember. Probably because I was only 17 at the time when it happened and I followed the ACC pretty closely even though I lived in California. Even though he got drafted by the Celtics that didn't matter much because he was going to be the shit when he got to the NBA. I just wanted to see him play.

Anyhow, I know all of us have our own tragic sports memories that have left us shaking our heads and thinking of what could have been. This happened 23 years ago and it is still so vivid to me.

Damn shame...RIP Len

Dewey,

Nothing personal at all, but I have a different opinion of this tragic event.



"Len Bias — Cause of Death: Heart failure, due to narcotic intoxication"

I'm sorry, but at any age and at any time in my life, I can think of one HELL of a lot more tragic deaths in sports than this guy.

Anyone who dies from a drug overdose, or any kind of complication from one, well.........I could care less. One less human being the world does not need around.

Yeah, he probably would've been great.......but does that really matter? He didn't have character strong enough to stay away from being a loser drug user??? When he had the world on a string? No, I'm sorry....no sympathy from me.

Care for yourselves, people.....don't be self-destructive. This world we live in will handle that objective fast enough.

[ndevlin]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Dewey,

Nothing personal at all, but I have a different opinion of this tragic event.



"Len Bias — Cause of Death: Heart failure, due to narcotic intoxication"

I'm sorry, but at any age and at any time in my life, I can think of one HELL of a lot more tragic deaths in sports than this guy.

Anyone who dies from a drug overdose, or any kind of complication from one, well.........I could care less. One less human being the world does not need around.

Yeah, he probably would've been great.......but does that really matter? He didn't have character strong enough to stay away from being a loser drug user??? When he had the world on a string? No, I'm sorry....no sympathy from me.

Care for yourselves, people.....don't be self-destructive. This world we live in will handle that objective fast enough.

Seriously??? You're kidding right? Have you ever had a family member die, no matter what the cause was? Obviously not I guess.

[Dewey2007]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Dewey,

Nothing personal at all, but I have a different opinion of this tragic event.



"Len Bias — Cause of Death: Heart failure, due to narcotic intoxication"

I'm sorry, but at any age and at any time in my life, I can think of one HELL of a lot more tragic deaths in sports than this guy.

Anyone who dies from a drug overdose, or any kind of complication from one, well.........I could care less. One less human being the world does not need around.

Yeah, he probably would've been great.......but does that really matter? He didn't have character strong enough to stay away from being a loser drug user??? When he had the world on a string? No, I'm sorry....no sympathy from me.

Care for yourselves, people.....don't be self-destructive. This world we live in will handle that objective fast enough.

Steve, you have pretty strong opinions so I'll just leave it at that. It's not how the man died that matters. How many of us were his age doing stupid things that could have killed us. I can look at something like this from a different viewpoint then you due to things I won't get into on here but anytime someone young dies like this it is very tragic. It's not like he was gang banging or drug dealing. He was just celebrating with his boys because he got drafted by the NBA champions and he died of drug complications. Sure he may have used drugs recreationly but he was no different then thousands of other college kids at the time. I just mentioned it because it was a sports related death of a great player and one that still resonates with me. I can say with pretty strong conviction that what happened to Len Bias kept me from ever wanting to use drugs.

Anyhow, that's enough out of me. Your opinions on this are different then mine and that's OK. Happy collecting!!

[kudu]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Dewey,

Nothing personal at all, but I have a different opinion of this tragic event.



"Len Bias — Cause of Death: Heart failure, due to narcotic intoxication"

I'm sorry, but at any age and at any time in my life, I can think of one HELL of a lot more tragic deaths in sports than this guy.

Anyone who dies from a drug overdose, or any kind of complication from one, well.........I could care less. One less human being the world does not need around.

Yeah, he probably would've been great.......but does that really matter? He didn't have character strong enough to stay away from being a loser drug user??? When he had the world on a string? No, I'm sorry....no sympathy from me.

Care for yourselves, people.....don't be self-destructive. This world we live in will handle that objective fast enough.

Heartless comment. So young people should never have the chance for drug rehab and have a second chance at a drug free life? I guess the world doesnt need Josh Hamilton anymore.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

I'm watching the ESPN show 30 for 30 "Without Bias" about the death of Len Bias and it its bringing back so many memories.

As a young sports fan at the time it happened this is probably the most tragic death of a player that I can remember. Probably because I was only 17 at the time when it happened and I followed the ACC pretty closely even though I lived in California. Even though he got drafted by the Celtics that didn't matter much because he was going to be the shit when he got to the NBA. I just wanted to see him play.

Anyhow, I know all of us have our own tragic sports memories that have left us shaking our heads and thinking of what could have been. This happened 23 years ago and it is still so vivid to me.

Damn shame...RIP Len

I agree 100%.
Forum member jdr3 knows I am a lifelong fan of ACC basketball, and he alerted me to this show a few days ago (thanks, Jim). This show brought back many bad memories of a true tragedy. When Len died, I was still a naive kid. This event was my first lesson in cynicism.

Here are two Maryland jerseys from the Bias era in my collection:

Worn by Terry Long, who was with Bias when he died.

[Dewey2007]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

I agree 100%.
Forum member jdr3 knows I am a lifelong fan of ACC basketball, and he alerted me to this show a few days ago (thanks, Jim). This show brought back many bad memories of a true tragedy. When Len died, I was still a naive kid. This event was my first lesson in cynicism.

Here are two Maryland jerseys from the Bias era in my collection:

Worn by Terry Long, who was with Bias when he died.

Warren, I've seen these Maryland pieces in your collection and they are very nice. I saw that Huggins & Scott has a Len Bias warm up jacket in their upcoming auction. Should be interesting to see what kind of price that gets.

It was cool seeing all of the old ACC game highlights they had in the show. Those brought back a lot of good memories!

[allstarsplus]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

I agree 100%.
Forum member jdr3 knows I am a lifelong fan of ACC basketball, and he alerted me to this show a few days ago (thanks, Jim). This show brought back many bad memories of a true tragedy. When Len died, I was still a naive kid. This event was my first lesson in cynicism.

Here are two Maryland jerseys from the Bias era in my collection:

Worn by Terry Long, who was with Bias when he died.

I graduated in the early 80's from University of Maryland and got to meet Len Bias and this was devastating for the Bias family, the school, and surrounding area as well as the Celtics that had just welcomed him as their future.

[mbrieve]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

The 30 for 30 documentary series on ESPN has been awesome. The subject matter has been great: Gretzky to the Kings, USFL, Ali vs. Holmes, Len Bias, etc. These are must see documentaries if you are a sports fan. A lot of these topics I was aware of, but really too young to have any kind of real knowledge of them. I would suggest catching these docs when they are on, very well done!!!

[otismalibu]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

The 30 for 30 documentary series on ESPN has been awesome. The subject matter has been great: Gretzky to the Kings, USFL, Ali vs. Holmes, Len Bias, etc.

Can one watch these online at ESPN?

Was hoping to catch the Terry Fox episode, but not even sure if it's been shown yet.

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Seriously??? You're kidding right? Have you ever had a family member die, no matter what the cause was? Obviously not I guess.

You guys are a trip.

I used your quote, Nate, because you are the the latest and quickest to jump on me when I post. Whatever turns your screws, partner.

Look, where did I ever say a youth gone bad with drugs doesn't deserve a life after rehab??

All I am saying is that I am sick and tired of this liberal attitude, saturated in society, that is ruining the world we live in. And that's coming from a guy who is NOT that conservative. I am a middle of the roader.

But there is one thing I have NO patience for.....and that's weak individuals who are drug users. I mean, my GOD, that's like talking about drunk driving. It's 2009 people.....HELLO! If you haven't figured out drugs do damage and kill.....then you're not paying attention. They also cause shoplifting, ruin homes, families, turn users into murderers......and on and on and on.

Did I do recreational drugs when I was in high school. Yeah, I smoked some pot and drank at parties with my friends. Occasionally. But I was into my life, my girlfriend, my sports. I had a life. I wasn't about to "F" it up because some scumbag walked up to me at a party, who wanted me to become hooked on whatever he was selling so I would buy from him on a regular basis. I would just as soon enjoy watching that kind of a guy step off a curb in front of a RTD bus.....if you catch my drift. Sorry, I was smarter than that.

But as I type this, I can honestly say that I have never done cocaine, or any of these other sick designer drugs. And I have absolutely NO sympathy for anyone who has died from choosing to put that crap in their body.

If you guys have a problem with that, then that's O.K. Nowhere did I ever say we had to agree on this. And I would never impose my will on anyone....except my kids. I won't let them kill themselves because of weak character. Or stupidity from being a drug-using scumbag.

Len Bias had the whole world....a guaranteed HUGE contract, and the NBA writers just waiting to write his life out. And he ended it because he was a drug user. If you guys can't see the problem with that, I can't help you. Was it tragic? Of course. Was it dignified? NO. It's the way LOSERS die.

Am I cold hearted? Not in the least. I just call the shots the way I see them. And even though I have no reason to apologize to any of you who see it differently, I will. I am sorry I share a different opinion on this than you do. But maybe if more of us felt the way I DO about it, and we cared more for eachother and didn't passively allow our children to participate in something as blatantly STUPID as putting powerful physiologically-altering and impairing DRUGS in their body for recreational stimulation......than we would have HAD Len Bias around for you all to enjoy.

The guy didn't have enough in life to look forward to, so he took drugs??? And DIED?

And I'm a cold hearted SOB???

Wow.

You guys need to maybe take a bit of inventory in your own lives. Sounds like a few of you have been fortunate enough to dodge a few bullets on your way to growing up. Congrats.

Now go look after your children. You never know when the next Len Bias may emerge.

[kingjammy24]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

currently up for auction. i don't know if its real or not.

http://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=16605

rudy.

[mbrieve]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Can one watch these online at ESPN?

Was hoping to catch the Terry Fox episode, but not even sure if it's been shown yet.

I'm not sure where or if you can watch these online, but here is the schedule: http://30for30.espn.com/

[emann]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

I'm not sure where or if you can watch these online, but here is the schedule: http://30for30.espn.com/

Thanks for posting the schedule, missed Bias, want to DVR it. Saw the Ali one and it was excellent. The footage they're getting is amazing...

And, without getting too involved: Growing up in Mass and being a kid when he died, Bias was definitely a tragic figure. He was seen as the great hope for the Celtics, the one who would lead them on into the '90s... A big part of the tragedy was the shock of going to bed excited one night that he was coming to Boston and wake up two days later to hear he was dead. I was 10, a big Celtics fan, and it rocked my world. Certainly the most shocking sports death in Mass, ironically followed closely by Reggie Lewis' death in 1993. From my POV, both of those deaths are the ones I remember the most in sports since I was in the community affected by them at the time.

[mbrieve]

Re: OT: 30 for 30 on ESPN: "Without Bias"

Thanks for posting the schedule, missed Bias, want to DVR it. Saw the Ali one and it was excellent. The footage they're getting is amazing...

And, without getting too involved: Growing up in Mass and being a kid when he died, Bias was definitely a tragic figure. He was seen as the great hope for the Celtics, the one who would lead them on into the '90s... A big part of the tragedy was the shock of going to bed excited one night that he was coming to Boston and wake up two days later to hear he was dead. I was 10, a big Celtics fan, and it rocked my world. Certainly the most shocking sports death in Mass, ironically followed closely by Reggie Lewis' death in 1993. From my POV, both of those deaths are the ones I remember the most in sports since I was in the community affected by them at the time.

I just checked my local television schedule and the Len Bias episode replays at these times:

Sunday, November 8 at 9pm on ESPN Classic
Monday, November 9 at 7pm on ESPN2