Someone stated it much better than I could, "Sacramento was granted a stay of execution!" The Kings will remain in the California capital through the next year, beyond that is anybodies guess. The primary issue, a new arena is still in the forefront and there's been no movement on the issue. The good citizens don't seem to be any more willing to spend tax dollars now than they did 5 or 7 years ago! The Maloof's appear to be sticking to their objective in this regard. With this anvil (Wiley Coyote vs. Road Runner reference) hanging over Sacramento's head will the fans flock back to Power Balance Pavilion?

We sometimes question the skills of high school players who are exceptionally tall? I know I do at times, opposing players and strength of schedule can paint a distorted picture of a players ability. AAU basketball clarifies the issue to a degree, a player must exhibit his A game every time he steps on the court. Last fall SI.com ran an article on two Canadian brothers by way of India who were playing ball in the U.S. The older brother Sim Bhullar is 7-5, 350 pounds and younger brother Tanveer is 7-3, 280. This is Sim's junior year and Rivals.com indicates several schools were interested in this Canadian giant.

I searched for game video and my "unofficial scouting report follows." Sim appears to have average to slightly below average speed up and down the court. He might gain a little more foot speed if he dropped 20-25 pounds maybe more. Offensive moves around the basket appear pretty smooth but opposition centers are most likely no more than 6-8. His defensive game might be a little suspect due to his size, his presence makes for a number of opposition blocked shots. Little video of him rebounding and again his size against high school competition probably wouldn't provide an adequate picture. The Bhullar brothers after first attending a high school outside Pittsburgh both transferred to different schools. Sim to Huntington Prep, Huntington West Virginia and Sophomore Tanveer to Montverde Academy in Florida. You might remember Huntington is the same school that produced Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo and Knick guard Bill Walker. Prior to completion of this piece Sim made a verbal commitment to the Xavier Musketeers.

We've heard and read comments from Commissioner Stern regarding numerous subjects. Naturally the labor issue, the Kings possible move and other issues were among the main topics of discussion. He's backed away from the NBA in Europe stance he's been campaigning for several years. My view NBA Europe is unfeasible for several reasons. Ponder this, the Lakers traveling across the country and then across the ocean to play in Paris is a strain on mind and body. I used a travel calculator to compute the flight time between the two cities, it's 11 hours and 19 minutes. The Paris NBA team (unless it recently returned from the states) would be in good shape to play, what about a tired Laker team from an international flight? A Euro NBA similar to NFL Europe would seem to be the best fit, a team from Paris team playing Barcelona or Berlin makes more sense travel wise. In addition if we are to believe the NBA is as broke as the owners claim seems to me the expense of transatlantic flights five months of the year would send a teams operating budget into outer space.

Around here (Big 12) we probably had our eyes focused on Nebraska and Colorado leaving for the Big 10 and Pac 12 respectively. Several other major schools changed conference affiliation and will face new challenges action begins in the fall. One of the schools that probably slipped under the radar was Texas Christian University moving to the Big East. This school has moved from the defunct Southwest Conference to the Mountain West and finally the Big East. Can you imagine a Rutgers or St. Johns travelling all the way to Fort Worth Texas to play a game? But this is the Big East Conference which has no problems with geography. In addition the up side of this move might be the great number of potential recruits in the state for other Big East teams.


"Pressure can burst a pipe or make a diamond"-Robert Horry