Tag:Scott Skiles
Posted on: March 17, 2009 6:32 pm


I used to be very old fashioned. There was a time when I would've had the same reaction Scott Skiles did when he learned that Charlie Villanueva was tweeting at halftime of a game.

There was a time -- oh, about 17 days ago -- when my reaction would've been, "What's tweeting?" Now, I say to myself as I read Skiles' comments condemning this transgression, "What's the big deal?"

Skiles said Villanueva sneaking a tweet at halftime would lead "reasonable people" to conclude that he wasn't paying attention or focusing on the game.

Really? Since when do players pay attention at halftime? Aren't they all busy texting and emailing their friends? In any event, with his first full season three-fourths over, I would've guessed that Skiles' players tuned him out months ago. That's what happened to him in Chicago.

Anyway, technology is charging past me so fast that I sometimes formulate opinions I can't believe. A purist would say that players shouldn't be messing around with Twitter at halftime. They should be paying attention to the coach. But that's boring. Plus, today's players are fully capable of paying attention to the coach and texting at the same time. Today's players are multi-taskers, baby!

It's a losing battle for any coach who wants to curtail his players' texting, emailing and the like. And an impossible one to win. If Villanueva can't post on Twitter at halftime, what about all his teammates who were texting their friends, wives, and um, girlfriends?

Now you have to draw the line somewhere, and here's where I draw it: During the All-Star Game, Chris Bosh was conspicuously and constantly texting and emailing throughout the game on the East's bench. It didn't matter that he was injured and wearing a suit. That's just wrong. When you are in public view on the court, your cell phone stays in your pocket. That's just the way it is.

But what do we make of this? During halftime of the Bucks' victory over Boston Sunday, Villanueva grabbed his PDA and transmitted the following to his Twitter feed:


Now, if there are Pulitzers for Tweeting, I think it's safe to say the other finalists are safe. But at least he did step up and deliver a team-high 19 points as the Bucks beat the listless Celtcs 86-77.


Twitter -- and much worse things that haven't been invented yet -- may very well succeed in bringing Western civilization to its knees. Until then, I don't see much wrong with tweeting a couple of thoughts at halftime. Just make it better next time.

In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. Close game at da half. I'm about to light up Pierce for 40. No way that stiff can guard me. 

Then we'd have something to tweet about.  





