Did you see or know this?

Video tape of Michael Jordan dunking the ball at age 48, it was nothing like the Air Jordan days but he can still get up there.  The Milwaukee Bucks hired Sidney Moncrief as an assistant coach, a writer stated "too bad the Bucks can't allow him to suit up." Super smooth shooter and a defender too, his career was cut short due to injuries but he managed a lifetime .502 field goal and 18.6 points per game in 10 years. The "real" Dennis Rodman as he choked back tears during his acceptance speech to the Hall of Fame gathering. Although he lacks public speaking skills the emotion was sincere and genuine. In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech Chris Mullin revealed he had keys to the gym while in high school. If you looked up gym rat in the dictionary it would describe Mullin. Having the keys allowed him the opportunity to work on his game whenever he wanted. I wonder if you could do that with any of today's players? I know we Americans like to lay claim to the invention of basketball, it it true the game was invented in the U.S. The inventor of the game was not American he was Canadian Dr. James A. Naismith. He was working at the Springfield (MA) YMCA in 1891 at the time he formulated the game. He might have invented the game but he wasn't a very good coach, Kansas fans tend to forget this part of the story---his lifetime coaching record 55-60.

I said I wasn't going to do this

At times I'm forced to retreat from something I said I wouldn't do, I once said we should resist "shouda, wouda" scenarios. In any event here goes, the basketball landscape of Kansas City and maybe the Kings might have changed if their front office had been a little smarter and not so stingy. In 1976 the war between the ABA and NBA came to an end, owners agreed to a merger adding the more successful ABA franchises into the NBA. The New York Nets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets became NBA franchises, the remaining three ABA teams were dissolved and a draft was held of each teams players. The draft was held similar to today in order of a teams finish, the last place NBA team would chose 1st. The Kansas City Kings had the number 3 pick, the Kings chose Ron Boone a 6-2 shooting guard. They paid $250,000 for his contract, I continue to believe to this day the choice was based on money and not talent. 19-year old Moses Malone was available but would have cost the Kings an extra $100,000, Malone eventually became the 5th pick. The Kings scouting staff failed big time, in his rookie ABA season Malone was at 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds a game. Those are good numbers for a high school player who never set foot inside a college. The balance of the story is a stellar career playing for the Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76'ers. Malone won an NBA Championship with the 76er's and was eventually enshrined in the Hall of Fame. What if----Malone playing for the Kings alone with later draft choices (Otis Birdsong, Phil Ford) raised the level of play of the Kings. They would have been a continuing playoff team maybe even winning an NBA Championship, oh well.

Guilty?

Mizzou Coach Frank Haith has been tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion. At this point we are only awaiting his sentence, am I exaggerating this or does it sound too far fetched? I don't think so, all that's required is to check the various websites, ESPN, CBS Sports, SI.com and others. They are full of Frank Haith stories, the damage has been done we don't know if he's guilty or not but his credibility is damaged beyond repair. The question might be what does the university do next? I don't have the answer however whatever transpires will create turmoil for all associated with the program fans included.

Please clue me in
Please help me understand, long ago I concluded there are a great number people who don't like basketball particularly the NBA variety. These folks have provided numerous reasons why they don't like the game. To some extent a number of their complaints are valid while others are just plain stupid. You don't like the NBA, I get it but why must you chose to visit NBA websites to voice this opinion? I'm no fan of hockey but I don't visit NHL websites to voice my opinions about the game. After reading a story on ESPN.com on the NBA page a writer expressed his view, he wrote in all caps "No body cares about the NBA." How about this, he doesn't care about the NBA and I don't care about his opinion I guess we are even now.

When you’re through improving, you’re through.Author Unknown