Whooooo!

I'm unsure at this point what my Laker team is trying to do. Commissioner Stern vetoed the Lamar Odom-Paul Gasol trade for Chris Paul, it was revised and submitted again. The thought of losing one or both Lakers would be tempered by acquiring an All-Pro point guard in Paul. Over the weekend the Lakers broke off trade talk with the Hornets then sent Lamar Odom to the Lakers arch rival---- the Mavs. To compound the issue the Lakers traded the NBA 6th Man of the Year (Odom) for essentially draft choices. Laker fans are upset with the following folks, the order might vary slightly depending on which Laker fan you contact: a. David Stern b. Laker GM Mitch Kupchak c. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. A report (unconfirmed) indicates Odom requested a trade, if true that's okay but why didn't management receive player(s) in exchange rather than the reported draft choices. The move to this point totally confuses Laker fans and Kobe Bryant, is Dwight Howard still in the picture? One other question do you think Commissioner Stern will make an appearance anytime soon at Staples Center?

 

Truly sad

I'm not sure of your view but I always hate to see a player forced to retire due to injuries.  From all indications it appears Blazers Brandon Roy's NBA is done at age 27. A healthy Roy has been an outstanding NBA player during his short time in the NBA. This 6-6 shooting guard arrived on the scene in 2007, how good was he? He was selected NBA Rookie of the Year for 2007 and on the All NBA Rookie First Team. He was 3X NBA All-Star, All-NBA Second Team in 2009 and All-NBA third Team in 2010. In 2010 Injuries, surgeries and missed games became a part of his resume. By the time you read this story he will probably have retired for medical reasons after a brief 5 years. (dates, Wikipedia)

 

"And the heavyweight champion is!"

That's what I thought viewing West Virginia battle Kansas State on ESPN last Thursday. I had visions of a heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier or Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas. Both teams pummeled each other neither able to knock the other one out, this match lasted two overtimes. Adding drama to the story we had a former assistant coach (Frank Martin) matched up against his mentor (Bob Huggins). Both teams left their heart and souls on the court in this slugfest, I remarked to my wife it was a shame one of the teams had to lose. Although a defensive struggle both teams shot the ball pretty well from the floor, West Virginia at 49.2% and Kansas State at 44.1%. 6-8 senior forward Kevin Jones with 30 points and 12 rebounds led West Virginia but was ably assisted by 6-2 senior guard Darryl Bryant with 24 points. Kansas State was led by guard Rodney McGruder and forward Thomas Gipson with 20 and 15 points respectfully. Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers of West Virginia were to emerge victorious 85-80 in this double overtime thriller.

Seems like was just yesterday
This story sounds strange now but "dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976. Many have attributed this to the dominance of the then-college phenomenon Lew Alcindor (now called Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) upon his entry into the NCAA." I believe to this day the 1970 NCAA Championship game was indirectly responsible for the ban being rescinded. It was Jacksonville versus UCLA playing for the championship. Jacksonville had two 7-footers in it's lineup, Pembrook Burrows and Artis Gilmore. Of course Gilmore went on to an outstanding ABA/NBA career. UCLA's front court was 6-9, 6-8 and 6-7 so you see Jacksonville had a height advantage. Burrows and Gilmore were blocking everything UCLA tossed up during most of the first half. 6-8 UCLA forward Sidney Wicks was boiling mad, the blocked and missed shots frustrated he and his teammates. After a Jacksonville score UCLA inbound the ball and it was passed to Wicks at the top of the key. Wicks drove down the lane and threw down a two-handed jam. Referees stopped the game whistled Wicks and UCLA for technical fouls Jacksonville made their free throws. That dunk changed the entire climate of the game, UCLA began to make shots and Jacksonville began to miss. At the half UCLA led 41-36 but put on a clinic in the second half as they won 80-69. I believe to this day that "illegal" dunk changed not only that game but the NCAA rule as well. (portion courtesy Wikipedia)

All is forgiven now
In all likelihood Reggie Miller, former Pacer and now TV analyst will be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame next September. I once wrote how I hated the guy while he played, hated him because he was clutch and an assassin. In retirement all is forgiven by me and others. His 1995 playoff game against the Knicks is a classic, Miller scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds 25 points in the fourth quarter. Check it out a number of videos exist on YouTube of varying lengths for just the last few seconds up to 7 minutes.

"Great defense consists of 3 R's" read, react, and rotate."
P.Carr