"Another one bites the dust"

The question was raised if this is the best Mizzou team of all time. During Mizzou's game against Texas A&M Color commentator Fran Frashcilla made a statement which might better sum up what this team has accomplished to date. He said "this might have been the perfect storm, Laurence Bowers injured prior to the start of the season. His injury probably caused Haith and staff to implement this 7-man rotation." In years past I've seen Mizzou teams suffer when the primary offensive threat has a bad game. This team has no "primary" scorer only guys who can shoot the lights out. Leading scorer Marcus Denmon was off in the A&M game. English stepped up and led the way to victory with 21 points. The team has played in this manner all season long, they have each other's backs! Mizzou accomplished the usual, i.e. out rebounding a much taller A&M team. One of Mike Anderson teams won 31 games but I also think they lost 11 games. I might have been tempted to consider that Mizzou team the best ever. After considering the collective efforts and exploits of this 25-2 team I declare they are the best ever regardless of what occurs the balance of the season.

 

I don't get it

My former manager is originally from New York City, I'm going to pose this question to him. We have discussed the move of the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn, we haven't discussed the name change. From all indications the team name will be changed to Brooklyn Nets once the move to Barclays is done. Jay-Z and others connected with Barclays Center continue to point out how important the name Brooklyn is to the residents. I don't get it, isn't Brooklyn already one of the boroughs that comprise New York City? I'll answer my question by saying yes, however this wasn't always the case. My research indicated Brooklyn was once a separate city, Brooklyn did not become a borough until 1898. This former city had it's own mayor, it's own city government, it's own everything. A vote was held to determine if the city would become part of the existing New York City or remain a separate city. Of course we know the the results of the election but unsure why in 2012 an event occurring in 1898 could still be an issue for present day residents of Brooklyn? Why not New York Nets which was the ABA name for the team for a time?

His retired number

By now all are aware Shaquille O'Neal has retired, his movement from team to team bothered a number of Laker fans. When he signed as a free agent with the Celtics that was the last straw for several Laker fans. Larry Laker is not included in the number, sure I thought he was chasing a championship. In any event on the heels of his retirement notice the Lakers made an announcement too. The team would retire his number 34 and it would hang with those of Kareem, Jerry West, Chamberlain and Magic. I thought this was a noble gesture for the Lakers because it sent a message to him all is forgiven. Everyone was so focused on the Kobe-Shaq feud they might have forgotten Shaq had "burn bridges" with Laker management. All is forgiven which it should be, Shaq was a valuable key to 3 Laker championships. Shaq's ceremony was originally intended to occur this season, the delayed start of the season caused a temporary postponement. The Lakers announce it will be held sometime during the 2012-13 season.

They don't want it

Rockets management and the City of Houston is excited, they have been awarded the 2013 All-Star Game. Mean time NetsDaily is reporting the Knicks and Nets are both jockeying to serve as host for the 2014 game. The renovation work will be complete on Madison Square Garden by that time. The building has such a high degree of usage the work is being done in phases. Barclays Center which will serve as the Nets home is scheduled for completion this upcoming September. There is one NBA team that wants not part of All-Star weekend, that team is the Chicago Bulls. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf states "we will only serve as host if forced to! He went on to state "the NBA takes over a teams arena for nine days prior to the All-Star Game. In addition season ticket holders must be placed in a lottery to determine if they will receive tickets." Can you imagine being a season ticket holder and forced into a lottery system for the All-Star game. I can understand why Chicago would pass if offered the game.

McDonald's All-Americans

The date of the game is March 28, 2012, it will return to Chicago and The United Center once again. Last year there were 20,018 fans in attendance which set an all-time record for the event. Once upon a time Kansas City served as host, the year was 1989 long before the Sprint Center was built. The attendance was only
average I certainly would like to see what the event might draw if held at Sprint. Some of the suspects are familiar, Perry Ellis who is headed to KU and 7-foot Isaiah Austin who will play for Baylor. In addition the number two player (he's still number one with me) in the nation Shabazz Muhammad of Bishop Gorman (Nevada) was chosen. Muhammad remains undeclared but indicates a decision will come at some point in April. Muhammad was interviewed on ESPN and again I must express how adult this young man is. He responds to questions unlike many in his age group do, well thought out and well spoken youngster. Another player chosen for the game was shooting guard Marcus Smart from the Dallas metro area. I had an opportunity to witness two of his AAU tourney games last summer, Smart is on his way to Oklahoma State.