The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated

Author Mark Twain once made the above statement, he made it due to his obituary appearing in a newspaper. I missed this one but so did a bunch of other folks. I had predicted the demise of the Big 12 conference but it appears the conference will survive at least for awhile longer! Is expansion in the picture, as this is written no decision is forthcoming however it would make sense. Big 12 with nine teams doesn't make a great deal of sense, on the other hand the Pac 10 remained the Pac 10 for years after they expanded to 12 teams.

Can you say "Brooklyn" Nets
I guess we could say this is kind of, sort of news. Jay-Z one of the Nets owner announced he will have 2 or 3 concerts in the Barclays Center as a portion of it's September 2012 opening. In addition he announced the team will become the Brooklyn Nets next year. Many might wonder why the name Brooklyn might have been chosen rather than New York Nets? The borough considered itself "major league" with nearly 100 years of baseball history. When the Dodgers left in 1957 for Los Angeles many in the borough felt as though they'd lost their identity! Brooklyn on the front of a jersey will allow the long ago pride of the past to return. Will this effort steal fans of the Knicks?

You can't always tell in advance
NBCSports.com ran a column on "The worst busts in NBA draft history!" The list contained the names of 31 players, the 31 had come into the NBA highly regarded but failed to make any sort of impact. Several had such short careers I'd completely forgotten them or the time period they played. Being fair to the players profiled injuries shortened several careers (Jay Williams) and often they just can't play at the NBA level (see Adam Morrison). We assume basketball talent can run in a families lineage, ask Sebastian Telfair, Stephon Marbury's cousin. Many are superior high school and collegiate players but are unable to hang with the big guys.  

Man-Cave stuff
Remember my story on completion of my man-cave? Well here goes, I'm surveying the cave and kept thinking "I need some more stuff!" As I explained the cave is not that big, what could I add that wouldn't overwhelm me or anyone in the cave? The financial issue is always looming in the decision, how much should the cap be on any purchase? Exactly how much should I spend? After some indecision on my part I purchased three additions for the cave. I added two photos (neither autographed) of "Big Game" James Worthy and "Cap", Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I also added a case for the autographed basketball I will eventually purchase, is the cave complete? It's complete for now but stay tuned.

Will he be given a chance?

They say "dynamite comes in small packages!" Justin Coleman is 5-10 155 pound package of dynamite. Coleman of Birmingham Alabama is a 2014 prospect and is considered great at running the point. Don't sleep on his offensive game, has a mid-range offensive game and can shoot the 3-ball from the high school line. I'm curious if he will be given an opportunity to display his skills at a Division I school only time will tell?

"I've never been afraid to fail."
Michael Jordan quote