On October 1st, Fox blocked Dish Network from its programming due to (what Dish calls) "an unprecedented rate increase of more than 50%." This is not the first time Dish sparred with a big affiliate. In its first season carrying the NHL, Dish faced a similar battle with Versus. Apparently, Versus felt it could command more money as an NHL broadcaster. Eventually, Dish and Versus settled, but it took months.
I may be in the minority here, but I've never once had a problem with Dish. They've provided fine customer service for my entire five years of subscription. They claim they want to keep costs down, and the truth is that they do. They're significantly cheaper than DirecTV and Comcast. And when I upgraded to HD this past winter, Dish supplied with me with a $200 receiver and a ton of HD channels for just $10. This deal was a reward for customer loyalty.
No company has ever granted me a tangible reward like that before. It was incredible. So do what you gotta do, Dish. Fight with Fox. I'm not going anywhere.
Pistons
Piston fans are somewhat split on how to react to the Jerebko injury. Some feel it's a massive loss since Jerebko is one of the few exciting players on the roster. He embodies the tenacity, hustle, and passion that Joe D wants to bring back to the team. Others, however, think the injury is no big deal. The team is going nowhere anyway, so who cares? One thing is for sure - the injury will definitely hinder Jerebko's development.
Nobody quite knows what to make of his potential. He can clearly become a Joakim Noah-type hustle player. But his 25 ppg for the Swedish team this summer showed he may have untapped offensive talent. His jumpshot is a bit clunky, and he's no gazelle when attacking the hoop. The closest comparison, and I still stand by this, is Rodman. They got freakish athleticism, tenacity, and nose for the ball. You'll never hear that comparison on TV or radio because people tend to compare white dudes only to other white dudes. Last year, David Lee was the most common Jerebko comparison. Other than the color of their skin, they don't really have a lot in common. Lee has much more finesse to his game. He's an excellent passer with a high basketball IQ. He and Jerebko do tend to get a lot of offensive rebounds, but Jerebko relies on athleticism. Lee on instinct. Lee won't outjump anybody. He'll just sneak around and back-door you to death. But I suppose these comparisons are all for naught. Jerebko is gone and may never recover from the achilles injury. It's a huge blow to the Pistons.
It does, of course, open the door for Greg Monroe. As I posted earlier in the week, I'd vastly prefer to see Monroe get the starting nod than Villanueva. My guess is that Kuester will try to get Monroe to provide Jerebko's tenacious defense. That's just not going to happen. From just the four games I watched in the rookie league, I can tell Monroe is not that type of player. He just doesn't have the footspeed or active hands. Like David Lee, Monroe is more a finesse player with high basketball IQ. A more accurate comparison for Monroe would be Rasheed. If he could study Rasheed's defensive technique, Monroe may be able to partner successfully with Big Ben.
And on the offensive end, Monroe has a fairly polished game already. Once he gets used to NBA speed, he'll be fine.
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