What's hot, not for the week
By Dan Shanoff
Page 2 columnist

Here's a hot new trend that will really help develop those young kids out there who want to learn to play basketball like the pros -- whining for calls. What's not hot appears to be some sort of civil acceptance of the fact that, unbelievable as it seems, you missed that layup because you aimed wrong, not because the ref jobbed you.

And that's what is on display every time Vlade Divac contorts his face and flops backward, or looks astonished every time the ref makes a call on him. (Did anyone else catch the replay where Vlade seemed to grab Samaki Walker's arm and pull it back into his face? Before getting the call, of course.) Or every time Antoine Walker howls and hurtles himself to the floor. (Did any non-Celtics fans appreciate Walker's fourth-quarter tech for complaining in Game 5?)

You know who Vlade and 'Toine are? The guys at your local Y or outdoor court who call a foul every time they shoot. Taking a jumper? Foul. Driving to the rack? Foul. Breathing on them? Foul. Abusing the unwritten code to "respect the call" of the shooter, even when the player seemingly has no self-respect. Ironically, this is going on at the same time World Cup refs are promising to put the clamps on soccer's greatest divers, floppers and actors.

OK, enough. Now take a look at the rest of what's hot and what's not this week. Feel free to share with your co-workers, buddies and significant others – they will really appreciate you for it:

What's Hot, What's Not this week
Category Hot Not
MLB "outing" controversy Pharmaceutical preference Sexual preference
Unsolvable defense The 2-3 zone Straight man-to-man
Press-conference fashion Sunglasses Hats
On-court celebration Signaling to hostile crowd Signaling to family
NBA draft hype Dan Dickau Yao Ming
Hairdo
Rick Fox

Hedo Turkoglu
NBA controversy Preps practicing with pros End-of-game instant replay
Eddie Griffin vehicle "Undercover Brother" "The New Guy"
Laker-killing move Bibby J around a pick Bobby J around the rack
Bench-warming cheerleader Mateen Cleaves Mark Madsen
Home run-hitting audience draw Shawn Green Barry Bonds
NHL goalie factory Latvia Canada
Clutch goal-scorer
Martin Gelinas

Luc Robitaille
Movie blockbuster "The Sum of All Fears" "Insomnia"
French Open star
Serena Williams

Anna Kournikova
Pressure situation Spelling-bee finals
... F-I-N-A-L-S ... finals.
Last-minute free-throws

A very special What's Hot, What's Not List supplement
World Cup 2002 -- "Love It Live ... even if that means 3:30 a.m.!"

Look for special World Cup items all month long, developed with an assist from Page 2 editor Jim Wilkie.

What's Hot, What's Not at the World Cup
Category Hot Not
Current bandwagon team
Portugal

Cameroon
Spectator tip Set the alarm for 5 a.m. to watch TV broadcast Book that flight for S. Korea
U.S. name to know
Clint Mathis (it-guy flashy striker)

Tony Meola (has-been back-back-up goalie)
Group "Group of Death" (Group F -- England, Argentina, Sweden, Nigeria) "Group of Dearth" (Group H -- Belgium, Japan, Russia, Tunisia)
Scourge Flopping (The NBA has taken a lesson! See above.) Extreme nationalism
Unwanted fan Diego Maradona Sepp Blatter
Interesting effect to watch Will Argentina's success bolster country's economy? Will Italy succumb to The Curse of Roberto Baggio?
Hairstyle
The Beckham

ZZ's top (Zinedine Zidane)
Bonehead Roy Keane David Beckham
Kit
Cameroon (Sleeveless)

Poland
Underdog
South Korea

China
Goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn (Germany)

Fabien Barthez (France)
Superstar Luis Figo (Portugal) Ronaldo (Brazil)
Phenom
Owen Hargreaves (England)

Landon Donovan (USA)
Advantage Sex (on recommendation of Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez) Continental

Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "What's Hot, What's Not" trend-spotting list appears Thursdays. Got inside scoop on an up-and-coming trend? Want to declare something passé? Send this glimpse of your hipness to hotnotlist@yahoo.com.




THE HOT LIST

ALSO SEE:


Dan Shanoff Archive

Complete 2002 World Cup coverage

Shanoff: What's hot, not for week of May 16-22

Shanoff: What's hot, not for week of May 9-15

Shanoff: What's hot, not for week of May 3-8

Shanoff: What's hot, not for week of April 26-May 2

Shanoff: 2002 NBA playoffs Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: 2002 NFL draft Hot 'n' Not List

2002 Stanley Cup playoffs Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: 2002 baseball Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The Sweet 16 Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The NCAA Hot 'n' Not List

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for Washington sports

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for NBA at midseason

The Hot 'n' not list for 2002 Winter Olympics

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' not list for Super Bowl

Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for 2002

What's hot, what's not for college hoops

What's hot, what's not for NBA 2001-02

What's hot, what's not for NHL 2001-02

What's hot, what's not for college football '01

What's hot, what's not for NFL 2001

What's hot, what's not for summer 2001

What's hot, what's not for NBA playoffs

What's hot, what's not for Stanley Cup playoffs

What's hot, what's not for NCAA Tourney

What's hot, what's not at spring training

What's hot, what's not at Super Bowl XXXV

What's hot, what's not in 2001





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