How to prevent this!

It's actually not possible, what am I talking about? You can read the complete details on any sports website, this is intended to provide highlights and point out problems. Michael Beasley Wolves forward is making off-the court news in a different manner this time. Beasley terminated his contract with his agent a month ago which resulted in the agent filing a wrongful termination lawsuit, Beasley filed a countersuit to this former agent's lawsuit. Beasley claims this agent and his AAU coach established a mentor/father relationship beginning at the age of 14. Beasley's mom as a single parent with other children struggled financially and Beasley's suit claims his mom began receiving payments from this agent. These improper cash benefits continued while Beasley was enrolled at Kansas State. If true this is not a new story, the names and location have changed but not the story! It is impossible to police payments and improprieties in the amateur game it's just too big. We must depend on the integrity of the parents, agents, AAU coaches and others. Are the agent and AAU coach guilty of illegal payments, is the mom guilty of taking money? Beasley was only at K-State one year, does K-State forfeit games he played?  What did K-State coach Martin know if anything?

Funny!
The news regarding Mizzou moving to the SEC prompted what I thought was a funny email. A fan wrote "the SEC is attempting to add as many Tiger schools to the conference as possible!" The proposed move is on the minds of all Mizzou fans however I don't think any of us thought about this possibility until I read his letter. The SEC would contain the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers and Missouri Tigers. LSU and Auburn are charter members of the SEC founded in 1932, in addition the nickname Tiger for both schools is as old as collegiate sports.

This is not funny
Over the last several months I've written numerous stories on LeBron James. Some of the stories might be considered critical but they were never meant to be malicious in nature. Now the line has been crossed, I must defend James on a story that seems to be making the rounds. Jokes have been going back and forth regarding James receding hairline beginning in late July or August. This is a "Men's Hair Club" type story, I too have been blessed with a receding hairline! I've had it all my life and guess what, in all my years it's not interfered one bit in my employment, relationships and any other life matters. Behind my back maybe people have laughed at my receding hairline. Whatever James basketball shortcomings are on the court and the court of public opinion have nothing to do with his receding hairline. It really doesn't matter, I'm sure James and I could point out something we might find funny on your body as well.

Should we believe him
I pose this question regarding Allen Iverson. Iverson one of the toughest little guys I've ever witnessed play in the NBA is asking back. At age 36 he wants to play in the NBA again, he claims it doesn't matter what team or if he comes off the bench. This is the same Iverson who wanted to play for a particular team and complained about coming off the bench. This is the same Iverson with a history of turmoil with head coaches. "Practice, we talkin bout practice" practice we talkin' bout practice, we not talkin bout the game we talkin bout practice!" Could he have anything left in the tank to help a playoff team get over the hump? You make the call on this story.

Who manufactures the shoes
Are you a Nike person or Adidas? Maybe neither, maybe you prefer another brand. Nike rules the world thanks in part to Michael Jordan and his Air Jordan line. I often wondered about the various other shoe manufacturers. I was surprised to discover most of the companies business starts came at a time prior to the game of basketball. The NBA was not on the scene until 1948 however players of an earlier era certainly had shoes although they were nothing like today's shoe. The Converse Shoe Company ruled the sneaker market prior to Nike, the company was founded in Malden Massachusetts in 1908. Dr. J. and several others once wore this brand on NBA courts across the nation. The world knows of the legendary Chuck Taylor shoe, the shoe no longer on the court has now become a fashion statement. Converse fell into hard times filing bankruptcy 2001 however new owners led the company to a resurgent and Nike purchased the company in 2003. The Adidas Corporation was founded in Germany in 1924, Reebok opened for business in 1895 in Bolton England. Reebok was purchased by the Adidas group in 2005. One of my all time favorites "Big Game" James Worthy wore New Balance shoes, research indicates Matt Bonner is the only current player wearing New Balance. For a short period Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone sported L.A. Gear as their choice of footwear. There are a number of other companies manufacturing basketball shoes, in recent years several Chinese companies have made inroads into the basketball shoe market.
(a portion of this courtesy Wikipedia)

I hate it! (zone defense) It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air.”
Norm Sloan former North Carolina State coach