On second thought
At the time word begin to circulate Yao Ming was to retire many begin to speculate whether he was Hall of Fame. I wrote his career was too short, 9 years wasn't enough time to justify inclusion. I've since changed my mind, what Yao accomplished extended far beyond the basketball court. Yao certainly opened the NBA game to the masses in China. Healthy he was a very skilled and talented player. Recently retired Shaquille O'Neal was asked about Yao, "the first time I faced him I tried to finger roll, he blocked my first three shots. I had to change my game against him. He was a great player." There will be future players from China but probably few with this gentle giant's skill and demeanor. So long Yao, the NBA will miss you. How about the fact the last two true back to the basket centers (Shaq & Yao) retire in the same year.

What!
After numerous law suits and delays construction of the Nets new home in Brooklyn is right on schedule. The Barclays Center is scheduled to open in September 2012 and the Nets will not play the first basketball game in the arena! Maybe I should have typed it in bold so it would standout more. In any event several publications are citing the same story one written by Matthew Flamm. According to Flamm a Maryland-Kentucky match will be the first game played in the new arena. Flamm provides no proof he says "according to sources." (Matthew Flamm, Crain's New York Business July 17, 2011) The latest dollar figures indicate construction cost of Barclays Center are in the neighborhood of $800 million dollars. Sprint Center opened in 2007 was built for $276 million dollars. 2011 dollars Sprint would cost $292 million.

A new "player" in the game
At this point it appears Under Armour intends to compete with Nike, Reebok, Adidas and others. Prior to the 2011 draft the company had only signed two NBA players. Under Armour announced signing of the second player selected in the draft former Arizona Wildcat Derrick Williams. Earlier in the summer they inked the number nine pick Kemba Walker of UConn. Nike and others should be on guard, many of us remember back to a time when Converse was the number one shoe. Dr. J., Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wore Cons. Nike (and Michael Jordan) came on the scene eventually eclipsed Converse and the balance of the story is history as they say.

Did you see that pitch?
The Wizards John Wall is an up and coming point guard, his star is rising in the NBA. Baseball that's a different matter, invited to throw out the ceremonial pitch at a Nationals game Wall's throw was classic. Do you remember the scene in the movie Major League, Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn's first pitch was thrown wildly? Indians play by play announcer Harry Doyle "justttttt a bit outside, he tried the corner and missed." Use your memory of the game, that's the type of throw John Wall made only quite a bit slower.

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose."
Tom Krause