He has a brother

The Class 4A state title in Nevada is history, it was decided last Friday. Shabazz Muhammad (6-6 215) led Bishop Gorman to the championship scoring 36 points. Although the career of Shabazz is over there will be another Muhammad at Gorman next season. The younger brother's name is Rashad, he's slightly smaller in height and weight than his older brother. Rashard is a 6-4 170 pound shooting guard in the Class of 2013, you might want to keep track of he and Bishop Gorman for the future.

 Do you have any spare change laying around?
"Worried that the luxury suites at the Barclays Center would never measure up to your fine tastes? Today, the arena introduces The Vault, 11 “ultra-luxurious suites” inspired and designed by Jay-Z, a Nets part owner who has already nabbed one for himself. If you’ve got the money to splurge, each Vault suite owner will receive eight premium tickets in the first 10 rows of the lower bowl to all Barclays Center events, including Nets games, as well as boxing and concerts. The suites are also described in a release as having “sophisticated lounge seating,” and flat-screen TVs. Suite guests will have access to the Armand de Brignac Champagne Bar (whose bottles go for about $300). The Vault’s common space, behind black steel doors, also has a 15-foot high shear lit curtain and screens of translucent glass. And of course, it’s designed to look like a club. The Wall Street Journal says that the suites run $550,000 per year, with a minimum three-year term – which is about $45,833 per month." As I mentioned in the headline anybody have any spare change? (fortgreene.patch.com)

I have to admit it

The Knicks Jeremy Lin is actually no overnight sensation, we knew about him all along. We knew he was key in leading Palo Alto (CA) to a state championship but were informed "he's Asian." Our mindset informs us Asian's are "good doctors, good at math and maybe some other mind skills, basketball is a completely different story." He went to Harvard and demonstrated he could play really well but we didn't scout him because that's Ivy League basketball. We knew but failed to comprehend what he brought to the table against UConn and several other high profile schools during Harvard's non-conference schedule. He worked out in NBA tryout camps but when draft time came we didn't bother to draft him. Although he's 6-3 and 200 pounds the "guy is Asian, if he were Yao Ming's (7-6) size it might be a different matter."

You know the balance of the story to date----there are still folks who see but refuse to believe their own eyes, the Mavs Jason Terry is one of those. He stated "it's easy for him (Lin) due to D'Antoni's system" what a bunch of caw-caw! Might I remind you I too have been critical of D'Antoni for a different reason, his teams don't emphasize defense enough for me. I've yet to hear any player state "the NBA game is easy!" The statements that bother me the most are those that point out his weaknesses. We could profile all 400 + NBA players and uncover an aspect of their game that's inadequate or below par. The same might apply for our 9-5 jobs whatever the parameters are we probably come up short is some area. All a person requires sometimes is an opportunity, I have no clue where Lin will be in 5 or 10 years he might be finishing up his PhD or he could still be hooping in the National Basketball Association. As for Taiwan this from USA Today, "Tuesday morning 4,000 Xinbei high school students were allowed time off from classes to see a televised broadcast of the Knicks' loss to the New Jersey Nets." There just might be a "Jeremy Lin" among the gathering.

What would you do

I'm revisiting an early story on the Blazers Greg Oden. I didn't realize at the time the recent micro fracture surgery was on his other leg, now he's had surgery on both legs. I think anyone in that situation would be a little tired of hospitals, should Oden retire? I'm sure the thought has crossed his mind, surgery after surgery and the term rehab has become a word he would like to forget.

Someone pointed this out for me they said "Andrew Bynum is not injury prone, one his surgeries Kobe landed on his leg.
Now as for Greg Oden he is injury prone." I certainly can agree with the statement and it's a shame too, the youngster has never had played a full season. Since his 2007 draft the nearest he came to a full season was 08-09, he played in 61 games that year. The one year he played at Ohio State his numbers were decent. He averaged 15.7 points with 9.6 rebounds and 3 block shots a game, and a field goal percentage an outstanding .616. And at 7-0, 285 pounds you can understand why the Blazers drafted him, his ceiling was astronomical. I hate to see injuries deprive any player of a career, the Blazers Brandon Roy retired earlier after a brief but outstanding career with the team. It's possible the same fate might be the future for Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. at age 24.