Bits n Pieces
I think many of us live in an unreal world; we believe our favorite university’s basketball program is squeaky clean. We are in a state of “shock” when evidence of cheating or improprieties is revealed. Listen to Tom Izzo Michigan State coach, “I am not saying that cheating is 80% of the game,” Izzo told USA Today. “It’s probably 20%. But it’s probably 70% of the top 20% (of player recruitments). College basketball is a business. This (recruiting) is a business now because it leads to ours.” We must consider cheating goes far beyond the issue of grades or eligibility. An example often is the wrong doing is that of a college booster. When a gaffe occurs don’t act surprised, do you here that KU faithful? This short paragraph certainly is not intended to detail the issue simply point out cheating does indeed exist.

How difficult is it to tape or DVR a basketball game intending to view it in its entirety? In this instance the discussion on The Dan Patrick Show surrounded Olympic results but it could easily apply to any sporting event. Been there done that, I cannot detail how many occasions I've glanced at my cell phone to check an NBA or collegiate score. If you arrive home before the conclusion you cannot tuned in to ESPN, Fox Sports or any sports channel. Most times these channels contain a crawl at the bottom of the screen providing a score update or the final score. In addition in this day of Twitter how in the world do you not know the final score of the game? There is one solution, avoid viewing any of the sports channels and don't you dare touch your smartphone or tablet. I don't have a Twitter account so I have no conception of how it works; all I can say is no tweeting. Even when I've used my DVR I've failed, in all honesty I'm the worst offender because of my desire to know the outcome. I began viewing the game as if it's live, at some point usually the second quarter I fast-forward to the end of the game for the final score.

Andrei (AK-47) Kirilenko has returned to the NBA, in a surprise to many of you (me included) it's not the Brooklyn Nets. After spending vast sums of owner Mikhail Prokhorov's money they were unable to meet Kirilenko's salary requirements. The 6-9 225 pound power forward is headed to Minnesota and the Wolves franchise. During last season’s lockout Kirilenko returned home to play in Russia, he played for CSKA Moscow. Signing Kirilenko is part of a continued off-season effort to improve the Wolves clubhouse; earlier Kevin Love had gone on record with a strongly worded statement. Love indicated the Wolves were clearing out the malcontents, he provided no names might he be referring to former Wolves forward Michael Beasley? At age 31 Kirilenko is still a talent and very capable player, he should prove to be beneficial to the Wolves and will provide the team a veteran presence.

Ken Berger of cbssports.com has provided us the proper title; he refers to it in a recent story as "Dwightmare!" If Dwight Howard should someday become a Laker I'll still remain a fan of the team. If Howard arrives that translates into Andrew Bynum leaving, Bynum has been one of my favorites despite his baggage. I wanted to clarify my earlier position; I'd gone on record earlier indicating I thought portions of Bynum's game were superior to Howard's. I stand by that statement but that doesn't translate to "I'm going to root for another team once they trade Bynum!" Over the years several of my favorites have worn purple and gold and been traded, although I was upset I reasoned the team would ultimately be improved. This is a short list of players the Lakers traded which upset me at the time. The first name on my disappointment list belonged to a member of the Showtime Lakers, point guard Norm Nixon. Nixon was drafted in 1977 but Magic Johnson was available two years later, both played the same position point guard. They were in the backcourt at the same time but eventually one had to leave and that someone became Nixon. Remember "Nick at Night" Van Excel? He was a truly exciting combo guard, that's what I'll call him. Nick Van Excel was the 10th pick by the Lakers in the second round of the '93-'94 NBA draft. He burst on the scene that year scoring at a 13.6 ppg clip while dishing out 5.8 assists. The last player is Eddie Jones, a 6-6 190 pound guard/forward defensive specialist. Jones known more for his defense could also score, he learned to play lock-down defense honing his skills at Temple University playing for the legendary John Chaney. At the same time I didn't shed a tear at the time Kwame Brown, Vlade Radmanovic and "Smush" Parker left Staples Center.