What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is a-going on here?

The headline is probably not familiar to most of you, others will remember it from the movie, Blazing Saddles. It was the character Taggart's response to what he thought was a bunch of silly behavior exhibited. Now that's out of the way allow me to see if I can connect the silliness of that movie to the NBA. David Stern, Dan Gilbert approve the trade of Chris Paul to the Clippers but disallowed the same player being traded to the Lakers. The silliness of the NBA owning a franchise, Hornets General Manager Dell Demps "thought" the trade was good. Not so according to the aforementioned folks, later Michael Jordan chimed in with his disapproval to the original trade as well. "We are going to ensure Kobe doesn't tie Michael Jordan and the Laker team fails to tie the Celtics for most championship wins." I don't believe in conspiracies but on the other hand?

ESPN

I confess, I'm hooked on the ESPN family of networks especially the collegiate and NBA basketball coverage. With the disclaimer issued up front allow me to question the sometimes plain dumb broadcasting decisions. According to the Kansas City Star the world wide leader has hired fired Chiefs coach Todd Haley as a guest "analysis" for an upcoming program. "An ESPN communications executive described the show as having a viewer-controlled format, allowing the analysts to answer questions." I guess a person might not be able to call in and ask Haley why he was such a terrible coach.

Movement

All the years I've followed the NBA I don't ever remember this much player movement. The new collective bargaining agreement is probably responsible for much of it. amnesty, free agency and plain old fashioned trades are in the NBA news everyday. I would be afraid to detail most of it for fear of omitted a story. During the course of a normal season there is a "dead-period" when teams are not allowed trades. A shortened NBA season might create movement through even this period, stay tuned.

Nobody cares anymore

Our usual custom at the barber shop is to discuss basketball. During a portion of several conversations my barber said: "UMKC should drop back down to the NAIA!" After research I discovered the words of Brad Porter Metro Sports Anchor which headline this story. This was his response to a question posed to him regarding UMKC basketball. The initials are probably not familiar to most, it's the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The university in Kansas City is one of four campuses spread throughout the state. A brief history, after a significant number of years the basketball program was resurrected in the 1970's. The school competed at the NAIA level from that point to 1989. 1989 was the year the school began playing Division One basketball, they played an independent schedule. When time came to choose a conference many thought they might look at the Missouri Valley Conference. That story turned out to be just that as story, they chose the Summit League which has contributed to their invisibility. From 1989 on it's been mostly downhill since then, a succession of athletic directors and basketball coaches and no, I repeat no stability. A former athletic director fired a coach and the hand-picked replacement coach left 1-year later to become an assistant coach with the Sonics. 1989 I had visions of a highly successful basketball program similar to a UCLA, St. John's or DePaul. Unfortunately the results on the court have become a nightmare for me and others. UMKC continuous play at a low level has caused even local sports media to ignore them. A winning streak has brought them to a 6-5 record, 1-1 in conference play. My hopes (and I'm sure others) never came to fruition, maybe my barber is correct. They should consider dropping back to the NAIA level, Oral Roberts University once did this. "The Titans began play as independent team in 1965. In 1971, the Titans moved up to Division I. From 1979 until 1987, the Titans were a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. In 1989, they became an NAIA school, in 1991, they returned to Division I." (courtesy Wikipedia)

I'm guilty

Ricky Rubio receives a limited "get out of jail" free card from me, I have been rather critical in the past of him---I admit it. The hype machine worked overtime for this teen as a 16-year old. We were led to believe this guy was a combination of Magic Johnson and Pete Maravich by many. The problem for us in the United States all we saw was video tape of fast-break passes of all descriptions, behind the back and between the legs. The 2009 NBA Draft would prove to be crucial, Rubio was drafted by the Wolves but then chose to remain in Spain. There were so many stories circulating why he remained in his native country they are too numerous to report. In the meantime media reports we received here indicated his game had regressed instead of getting better. Finally Rubio arrived in Minneapolis this year indicating he's ready to try on the NBA and see if it fits. The Wolves will be patient with him, Rick Adelman and staff will teach him how to play point guard in the NBA. The Wolves are not depended on the youngster for shooting, the key for him is demonstrating his leadership skills and ability to run the team. I'll be watching along with other NBA fans to see how Rubio's game develops, no more negative comments from Larry Larry for now. .

Damn the geography, full speed ahead

Please excuse me I took liberty with the headline quote altering it slightly. Over the next few years the collegiate basketball landscape will have changed drastically thanks in part to football. BCS qualification will have caused major changes across the nation never mind the geography distances. Boise State and San Diego State both western schools will become Big East schools. Due to the numbers I decided to print in bold type for you to appreciate the ramifications of schools and conferences involved. Pitt and Syracuse leaving the Big East for the ACC. Mizzou, Texas A&M leaving the Big XII for the SEC. West Virginia and Texas Christian University leaving the Big East and Mountain West Conference for the Big XII. Boise State, San Diego State, Southern Methodist, The University of Central Florida and Houston will joining the Big East. There is confusion as the story is being reported conflicting reports as to which schools are joining the Big East for football only. Confused, so am I and I wrote the story.

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."

John Wooden