Sometimes you must agree to disagree

A very dear friend raked me over the coals recently. She informed me Mizzou was wrong to leave the Big XII for the SEC. I will entertain discussions on Mizzou's move with anyone! I take that back, the exception would be anyone who identifies themselves as a Jayhawk fan. My friend is from North Carolina but has lived in Kansas City Missouri for a number of years. She has no allegiance to Jayhawk nation so I enjoyed our heated at times discussion. In the 1970's 60 Minutes News Magazine had a segment titled "Point Counterpoint." One correspondent would discuss a subject at length. The other would then offer a counter argument to the previous discussion. That's kinda the type of discussion we held. Did we resolve this matter, of course not? In the end I told her "I love you but we must agree to disagree." I'm sure I haven't heard the last of this issue. The Jayhawk story below was written prior to this, perhaps I should have had my friend read this first.

You can stop reading if you heard this earlier

Stephon Marbury's critical remarks on Bobcats owner Michael Jordan's role in the lockout. I didn't bother reading the details. Despite the exploits of "Sir Airness" on the basketball court he is now an NBA owner. Jordan must secure the best deal for him as an NBA owner, isn't that what you do with your Starbury brand? I have another question for you, why are you playing in China rather than the NBA? Is it possible your "me" attitude caused you to burn far too many bridges to remain in the association?

Jayhawks!!!

If you are located in some other portion of the nation or world this story is not as obvious to you. Mizzou fans can state It's been an interesting week especially listening to the negative comments on Mizzou's move to the SEC. Naturally most of the criticism is coming from KU fans. Jayhawk fans act as though Mizzou was a lover who spurned them. Basketball Coach Bill Self and football Coach Turner Gill are singing a duet, "we don't want to continue to play Missouri in the future!" My question is why not, when asked the same question Frank Haith pointed out schools can maintain rivalries in separate conferences. I have a proposal for Bill Self if he and Jayhawk nation maintain their present posture. No more KU games in Sprint Center, Sprint is located in Kansas City MISSOURI. Never mind Sprint is some 45 miles from Lawrence Kansas home of the Jayhawks. The key, the arena is located in Missouri, Missouri is an SEC school, it's no longer Big XII. Why should Kansas be allowed to play basketball in a state they no longer have a conference rival? This scenario will never play out I'm just attempting to point out the silliness of KU's administration and coaches over this issue. One more question, what if the shoe was on the other foot and KU was leaving?

I didn't know

Shaq had issues with retired Laker Kareem Abdul Jabbar! I haven't read Shaq's book but have read Kareem's response. Kareem says " I went down to LSU and worked with Shaq on the fundamentals of the Skyhook as a favor to Coach Dale Brown. But when I followed up with his Coach, Dale Brown, I was told that Shaq's father told his son he didn't need to develop a hook shot and all he needed to... do was smash everything into the basket. Shaq's fathers felt that he was so overpowering physically that he should just dunk everything and not worry about developing a finesse shot like the Skyhook." We can debate the Kobe-Shaq feud till the forthcoming apocalypse, I'm no longer taking either players side. If there truly is a Kareem-Shaq issue I'm announcing up front I'm on Kareem's side! During his playing days Kareem sometimes appeared sullen and shared few emotions with the media. I don't ever remember reading a negative story on Kareem by a teammate, former adversary or coach. I do remember coaching attempts by various folks over the years to aid Shaq's free throw shooting. I remember Shaq making the statement "I hit them when the game was on the line" which was only partially correct. Over the years it's possible I might have missed a comment my memory is unclear. (Kareem's Facebook response)

The name's the same

Recently CBSSports.com ran two stories one titled the "Top 100 college players." The other story headline read "Top 30 under-the-radar players." The name Tony Mitchell appeared on both list however closer inspection by me revealed there are actually at least two Tony Mitchell's playing major college basketball. The Mitchell most familiar to me is the 6-8 forward ruled ineligible at Mizzou last January. This Mitchell eventually left Mizzou and will play this season for the North Texas State Eagles. The other Mitchell is a 6-6 forward who was the second leading scorer for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season. He scored at a 15.2 clips per game as a sophomore which became a breakout year for him. This Mitchell increased his scoring average by 6 points over his freshman year. The confusion might continue should both Mitchell's make an NBA roster.

News you might have missed

In this age of heighten tensions the report of a bomb threat is not unusual. The unusual aspects of the story is the location of the bomb threat and the suspect caught. The location of the threat was the NBA Offices, no the suspect was not a current or former player. That might have been your first thought, it turns out the individual worked for a security company as a guard. No reason was revealed for this former security guards bomb threats, very strange story.

"Last year we couldn't win at home and we we were losing on the road. My failure as a coach was that I couldn't think of anyplace else to play." Harry Neale former NHL coach