Bits n Pieces
On second thought maybe I only needed a couple of weeks of R n R, relax and recreation. There is far too much basketball news for a September revival of Words. With that statement I’m borrowing this line from Michael Jordan; he issued this after he retired the first time, “I’m back!”

I've never been a gambler, only journeyed to Las Vegas once in my life and that was for a wedding. I’m explaining why over the years I've paid little if any at all attention to Las Vegas sports odds. I did find it amusing reading a Los Angeles Times story on the Lakers, the short version Vegas has the Lakers on a roller coaster. The up and down odds are based on the Lakers with or without Dwight Howard. This quote jumped off the page at me from RJ Bell of Pregame.com. He said "Vegas probably does not value Howard as highly as the public does," Bell said. "Vegas values Bynum slightly higher than the public does." A Laker fan questioned how Bynum might play this upcoming season with all the off-season trade rumors.  None of us can truly answer the question only Bynum, I understand his point but we have no method to determine an answer.  (Los Angeles Times)

Why not take into consideration the entire works of a person’s life rather than just bits and pieces? As an example a player could have an excellent collegiate career and a so-so NBA career, i.e. Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson. Both Walton and Sampson were outstanding collegiate players; injuries curtailed their NBA careers. A player can become a great coach regardless if we like them or not, example Bobby Knight. It was announced Knight will be inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame; he was selected to the hall as a player not as a coach. A writer's email failed to take this fact into consideration, he reminded us of Knight's temper tantrums and the fact he bullied his players. The writer was correct in his assessment, he failed to take into account the selection was Bobby Knight the basketball player not Bobby Knight the coach.

The first regular season NBA game held at Barclays Center will involve the Nets and the visiting Knicks, are you surprised? “We asked the league to give us the most dramatic game to open the season. I was obviously for playing the Knicks. I thought it would make for a compelling moment here in New York sports and thankfully (the league) agreed and felt the same way. And here we are.” This was Nets CEO Brett Yormark statement at the time he was questioned.  Once the date was secured the Nets added an promo of the game on their website.
Veteran broadcaster Marv Albert’s pre-recorded opening night intro is recorded as if the game is tonight not November 1, I'm sure you can locate it on You Tube. For those unfamiliar with the date it was the last year the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, the team moved to Los Angeles the following year. The baseball team of Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and Johnny Podres and others left Brooklyn for the greener pastures of California. Many in the borough longed for a team with the name Brooklyn emblazoned on the front of the jersey since that time period. New York City seemed to embrace the Knicks, didn't matter what borough you might live in that might soon change maybe. The Knicks number one celebrity fan Spike Lee claims the Knicks will "always' be New York's team.” So stated Lee who is actually from Brooklyn originally. The Nets have been generally ignored by the bulk of the sports populace while in New Jersey, this despite the fact the Nets have advanced further in the playoffs even playing for the NBA Championship in 2002. A reporter from Kansas City covering the series claimed he couldn't locate any Nets apparel in Manhattan, how far he journeyed around the city or the number of apparel shops wasn't ever made clear. With the Nets now secure in Brooklyn should we suppose the role of outsider will change? (www.nj.com)