Bits n Pieces
Suns center Robin Lopez was the latest to be
accessed a flagrant 2 for hard foul on the Clippers Blake Griffin. I know Blake
and his teammates are smarter than they appear, they cannot seem to figure out why opposing teams are attacking Griffin. Before you get
the wrong impression I'm not in favor of violence but Griffin himself could be the culprit. He poses after his dunks and his constant jawing at refs gets old
after a period of time. I've got a hint for Griffin, try practicing making free
throws and working on your defense. Finally work on your range rather than
seeing how many spectacular dunks you can complete per game. The legs will
eventually leave you, Vince Carter?
Teams have been setting picks since the beginning
of time, nothing new perhaps. The Bulls are wrong, they should have yelled out "pick" to John Lucas III. 6-8 250 pound LeBron James is wrong too, he's
wrong for leveling 5-11 165 pound John Lucas III in the last Heat-Bulls game. I
wonder if 6-9 225 Taj Gibson or 6-9 266 Carlos Boozer might the outcome have been? Both players are closer to LeBron's size than Lucas. Just wondering, I'm sure you can locate it on
YouTube, check it out and see what you think.
Why are some folks surprised by the degree of
success Mike Woodson's had with the Knicks? The guy was head coach of the
Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010, he knows how to coach. It would be nice if
management should remove the interim tag in front of coach. Phil Jackson is the
best basketball coach not coaching, I hope he stays retired and doesn't
succumb to the dollars rumored.
We've heard all the dangers of talking on your
cell phone while driving, how bout watching? During a recent Knicks-Nets game
a spectator seated on the front row was smacked in the face by the
basketball. He thought talking to his buddy was more important than the action
on the court right, wrong.
Try it you might like
it
Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver claims there is
no way the NBA could operate with a 66-game season. His shortened
response, "revenue would cut significantly." NBA expansion is the prime culprit
with the increase to an 82 game season. I mentioned in a column months back how
Gene Conley was able to pitch for the Red Sox and was a reserve player with the
Celtics. Knicks forward Dave Debusschure also performed this dual role pitching
for the White Sox and playing for the Pistons early in his NBA career.
"NBA teams played 80 games beginning in
1961-62. The league added a game in 1966-67 bringing the total to 81, then
ultimately settled on 82 games for the 1967-68 season when the San Diego Rockets
and Seattle Supersonics joined the league." One of the many complaints I hear from fans is "the season
is too long." Playing well into June to decide a champion hasn't made sense to
me for a number of years. (ESPN.com)
Ol Skool, the absolute best basketball shoe
commercial ever made.
Headlines
The Kansas City Star recently ran a story
indicating the chances of an expansion NBA or NHL team were slim to none. I
cannot and will not speak to NHL expansion as for the NBA that's another
matter. Although the desire is for the NBA to retain stability an
existing franchise move would be far better than expansion. The product (NBA)
has been diluted enough, in fact I'm not afraid to mention the word
contraction. It's my belief as a party of one Kansas City could support
NBA basketball, supporting an expansion team is out of the question. The latest
figures indicate we have a metro population of 2,500,000 and an area population
of 3,000,000. I'm defining the area as 3 hours or less drive time to Kansas
City. Folks wouldn't be driving nightly from Topeka, Columbia or St. Joe but
there might be a number who would chose to see an NBA basketball on a
weekend. Where do we go from here, is there
hope? The door is not closed, it's slightly ajar, the Hornets have been sold to
Saints owner Tom Benson, the Grizzlies appear to be gaining traction that make
it appear they are in Memphis for the long-haul. There are three franchises
which I categorize as "shaky," the Bobcats, Bucks and Kings. I believe a key to
a team is to locate local ownership, that probably sounds strange when two of
our pro teams have absentee owners. Lamar Hunt and family lived in Dallas and
his Chiefs played here, same for the baseball Royals after owner Ewing
Kauffman's death, the Glass family lives in Arkansas. Bottom line for the
immediate time NBA fans in the Kansas City metro must satisfy themselves with
televised games and the annual pre-season game.
