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Is Chris Bosh justified in complaining about role?

Miami Heat Forward Chris Bosh (1) during 1st half action against The New York Knicks at the American Airlines Arena, in Miami Florida, December 28,2010. The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 106-98.. UPI/Susan Knowles…

After the Heat’s loss to the Blazers on Tuesday, Chris Bosh grumbled about the types of shots he’s getting. (ESPN)

“I just have to get it where I’m effective. I’m a big man. I can shoot the ball but I’m a big man. So I have to get it where big guys get it. Then I feel I can start helping out this team more.”

“I’ve got to get back in my comfort zone, I haven’t been in my comfort zone,” Bosh said. “A lot of things are new for me. I just have to be more aggressive in demanding my [the ball] comfort zone, you know I’ll take the fault for that… I’m effective down in the low post area, so that is where I need to start getting the ball. I need to be assertive in demanding it.”

“I’m saying what I need to do as a player, a closed mouth doesn’t get fed,” Bosh said. “I’m uncomfortable now so you might as well do something else. If there’s a disagreement or something, that’s fine, we can talk about it. If they don’t want that, that’s OK, but I just feel that I have to be my normal self. I’m not there right now. I haven’t been there many times this season.”

All right, so he’s a big guy and he wants the ball on the post. That’s all well and good, but he said this back in October…

“I never really like to bump against people that are a lot, lot bigger than me,” Bosh said in October. “I’m not the biggest guy in the world. Coach is going to put him in that position sometimes. He’s not going to hang me out to dry. He’s going to put me in there when we have an advantage.”

That sure doesn’t sound like a guy who wants to be fed the ball on the block. I always thought that he was more effective at the mid-post or the elbow, where he could hit the little jumper or go by the defender.

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Who is going to win the 2010-11 NBA MVP?

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard scores during the third quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago on December 1, 2010. The Magic won 107-78. UPI/Brian Kersey

About this time every year, the MVP discussion really heats up. This season, it seems like it’s a two-man race between LeBron James and Derrick Rose, but I think there are a few other players that deserve consideration.

Using the same methodology that I used for my All-Star picks, let’s narrow down the league MVP candidates and see who should be on the short list.

I like to use the NBA’s Efficiency statistic, which rolls points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, missed shots and missed free throws into one number for comparison purposes. It’s not perfect, but no statistic is. I take a player’s per game efficiency (adjusted for team pace, because a player should not be penalized because his team plays at a slow pace) and multiply by his team’s winning percentage to calculate his Adjusted Efficiency. This is a number that takes both performance and team success into account.

Let’s take a look…

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A college football head coach cheated? Shocking!

I have to say, I’m shocked this morning. I’m shocked that so many people are shocked that the head coach of a major college football program would stoop so low as to lie or cheat in order to gain an advantage on the field.

As I wrote yesterday, the media loves to get on their high horse when it comes to scandals like Jim Tressel’s at Ohio State. For those unaware, the Buckeye head coach knew about “Tattoogate” eight months before the NCAA disciplined his players and on Tuesday, Ohio State suspended Tressel two games and fined him $250,000 for not coming forward about what he knew. (He received e-mails from an attorney in April 2010, which indicated that his players were receiving improper benefits.)

In other words, he cheated. He knew his players were violating rules and he did nothing about it. He kept quiet so that his season wouldn’t implode and he convinced the NCAA to allow Terrelle Pryor and the other suspended players to participate in the Sugar Bowl so he could finally get the SEC monkey off his back. (Thanks to Pryor, the Buckeyes beat Arkansas in a 31-26 thriller.)

But back to my point: Is any of this surprising? Because it’s “The Vest” we’re surprised that a college football coach in this day and age is capable of something like this? Everyone lies and cheats to get ahead in college football. Whether it’s Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban, Rich Rodriguez or yes, even Tressel, we’ve reached a point where nothing should surprise anymore. I’m not saying that what Tressel did was right because it’s not. But you mean he withheld information that some of his star players were violating NCAA rules because he wanted to win in 2010? No way! There’s no way a college football head coach would do that!

The only thing that matters in college football is winning and if you don’t like that statement then don’t watch because it’s true. And speaking of the media getting on its high horse, I couldn’t help but scoff when I read the conclusion of Mark Schlabach’s article on Tressel this morning:

For the record, Michigan’s football team hasn’t beaten Ohio State in 2,663 days.

But the Wolverines won on Tuesday.

At least they had fired their cheating coach.

No, they fired a losing coach. That’s the difference.

Welcome to the present day world of college football. You’ll feel right at home if you lie, cheat and steal to get ahead because it’s almost become expected. Just make sure you win, baby.

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